A Community Fridge has been launched in Falmouth for people to access fresh food that would otherwise go to waste.

Co-op in partnership with environmental charity Hubbub unveiled the new fridge at The Dracaena Centre Falmouth recently.

Donations of unopened, packaged foods within their use-by date and raw fruit or vegetables can be made, which will then be available to anyone in the community to take.

Food is donated by businesses – with Co-op donating surplus food from its stores.

The fridge will be open at the centre throughout the week Monday to Friday 9am to 2pm, and Saturday 10am to 12pm.

One of the people behind organising the fridge is Siobhan Florence, Skills and Education Manager at The Dracaena Centre.

She said:

"We are really happy with how it's turned out. We had the application, which was quite straightforward, through Hubbub. Setting it all up has been fantastic. It is nice to see people out and to know we have a facility here now to distribute fresh food. Our café is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday with an amazing quality of food, but it is nice to know it won't go to waste and some of it can go in the fridge. The fridge is open to anyone, you don't need to bring ID or evidence."

Staff from the Clipper Way Co-op were on hand to open the fridge, as part of the Co-op's 'Christmas Together with Food' campaign. In its new campaign the Co-op has announced the extension of its partnership with Hubbub.

After identifying 100 locations for Community Fridges in 2021, Co-op plans to release funding to support the setup of a further 250 Community Fridges by the end of 2023.

This will double the size of the UK's Community Fridge Network to 500 fridge hosts.

Falmouth Co-op store manager Simon Berryman added:

"This is part of our Local Community Fund. What better way to help the local community than with this? The Dracaena Centre is one of our food share partners. They collect food that would otherwise be wasted from us twice a week but now we have the Community Fridge they can collect more often which is great. The more we can provide for the fridge the better it is for the local community."

If you know of a local community organisation that would like to become a community fridge, click here.

You can also help to support the scheme by becoming a Co-op member. When you buy selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p for every pound spent goes to you and Co-op gives the same to local communities.

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