A Community Fridge has launched at Newark College, supported by the environmental charity Hubbub, as part of a new partnership with Co-op to fast-track the expansion of Hubbub’s Community Fridge Network across the UK.
Located at Newark College’s main reception, the Community Fridge is open to all students, their families and everyone in the wider community, to access fresh food that would otherwise have gone to waste. There is no need to be referred or to prove eligibility to use the service. The food is donated by businesses, including fortnightly deliveries from FareShare Midlands, and the Co-op who donate surplus food from its stores.
As well as improving access to food, the fridges aim to go beyond this by empowering communities to connect and learn new skills through activities such as cookery sessions.
One recent example saw Supported Education students at the College putting their new catering skills into practice, by cooking a nutritious lunch for their classmates’ using food from a recent donation. This enabled them to plan a meal using available seasonal items, rather than shop for a specific recipe.
Lead for Education and Training at Newark College, Penny Taylor said:
“We’re delighted to have a Community Fridge at Newark College and to be building on our Foodbank initiative.
“Our students can now access fresh and packaged food goods from us and effectively all the ingredients needed for a variety of dishes. We’re encouraging them to make more of mealtimes; cooking with friends and family and eating together. They’re already seeing the health and cost benefits of eating this way rather than reaching for convenience food or takeaways.
“We are also planning events to involve the community, so that local groups and residents can get together and enjoy a meal with us too.”
The fridge will be open during college hours to enable residents and local businesses to share surplus food and for anyone to help themselves to quality food.
This Community Fridge is one of 100 new community fridges that will be opened over the next year, which are expected to save 6.8 million meals1 per year from going to waste. The new fridge builds on the success of the existing 150 fridges in the Community Fridge Network, which redistribute on average almost 6,000 meals per fridge each month.
Newark College are welcoming donations of unopened, packaged foods within their use by date and raw fruit or vegetables from businesses and supermarkets. Please contact Clair to find out more at crobshaw@lincolncollege.ac.uk.
For more information on the Community Fridge Network, including a map of fridge locations visit: www.hubbub.org.uk/the-community-fridge
Come along to our Open Day on Thursday 28th April to find out more about how we support our students, and apply for a course starting this September. Click to book here.
