Community Fridges is a wonderful idea from our Canadian friends, to help nourish communities that are struggling to afford good meals in so-called ‘food deserts’ (you know the areas – often one NISA or Spar shop with not much more than frozen pizza and chips or bags of crisps to eat for dinner). We need good solutions to bring local affordable organic food back to communities, and this is just one idea that is being carried out over the ocean.
Read up on food safety for people & pets (many human foods are unsafe around animal friends). If growing food, use no-dig gardening (and avoid netting) to protect garden creatures and learn how to make gardens safe for pets (use safe humane slug/snail deterrents).
People in the community who can safely leave an unlocked fridge in the premises let the fridges be anonymously used by local people, with donations from people or food companies, to basically help themselves. There are rules on the site on how this works.
For example, you obviously have to keep food sealed and in date, and certain foods (like some meats and cheeses) are not allowed. The motto of the Community Fridge is ‘take what you need, leave what you can’ so others can benefit.
People are also asked to ensure their hands are clean (or they use gloves) when accessing the free food, and throw it away, if you see anything not good or out-of-date. New donations are placed in the back of the fridge, so the oldest food gets used first, to avoid food waste.
Toronto’s Community Fridge also accepts restaurant-prepared meals if still in date, along with other basic need items (soap, laundry powder, nappies and personal feminine care etc). One thing not allowed in the community fridge is alcohol, for obvious reasons!
Why not get together with people in your community, and come up with a similar idea? It would reduce food waste, feed hungry people and reduce the profits of the big supermarkets that get rich on the backs of providing inferior food at great expense to people on low budgets, and often wrap it in plastic packaging?
Many places worldwide are now offering community fridges, from Los Angeles to India? Let’s get the community fridge movement started in England too!
