Hayling Island set to get a surplus food community fridge to help reduce waste

Hayling Island is just one of ten new locations that will see a new community fridge to help reduce food waste and support local residents amid a £40,000 donation from Southern Co-op.

There are currently a number of community fridges across the south including Brighton, Littlehampton, Basingstoke, Chichester and Uckfield, with new locations including Hayling Island, Adur and Worthing being added to the list.

The regional Co-op is supporting the fridges through Hubbub in a bid to tackle the problem of food waste and food poverty across the south.

The fridges are commonly housed in local community spaces and households are welcome to attend each session to freely collect surplus food which will have been donated to the cause by other local residents, charities or FareShare.

All of the community fridges are open to anyone and generally have a couple of sessions a week for people to attend.

Tania Jones, Outreach Worker for Hayling Island Community Centre CIO, said: ‘We have seen a sharp increase in numbers of households needing support through our community pantry, and the community fridge will be an essential service. We are striving to reduce any food waste too and this scheme will ensure food is shared and recycled in a safe way.’

The new fridge has come at a time when it is most needed and when households across Hampshire are struggling to do their weekly shop due to the cost of living crisis.

A city wide campaign, ‘With Thankful Hearts’, has also recently been launched to help support local foodbanks and pantries as they are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of donations being received.

The campaign is asking people, who can, to donate food items where possible and adopt a food bank for the rest of the year, highlighting the need for extra support to prevent food poverty across Hampshire.

Holly Bramble, Community Lead at Southern Co-op, said: ‘These fridges bring together people from the local area and can be the spark to building the local community spirit. They are often run by volunteers who share our passion for sustainability, so it is has been wonderful getting to meet some of those involved.’