Introduction

Community fridges are registered spaces where surplus food is shared within a local community, by businesses and individuals. They are welcoming, social spaces and open to all.

The Community Fridge Network (CFN) is coordinated by the environmental charity Hubbub, and was set up in 2017. It consists of community fridge projects in the UK that have registered with the charity, have met certain health and safety standards, and are committed to supporting each other through sharing learnings and impact.

Hubbub provides free support for any group wanting to set up and run a community fridge, enabling the network to flourish across the UK and beyond. The CFN brings together major retailers, grant giving bodies, local authorities and community groups to reduce business and domestic food waste and support community resilience. This is done through increasing access to food skills and nutritious food, and supporting activities and services which promote sustainable, affordable living, such as those shown on pages 14 and 15. Between November 2019 and October 2020, 110 fridges in the CFN redistributed the equivalent of over 4 million meals (over 2,000 tonnes of food surplus) to over 150,000 unique visitors. By the end of 2021 we predict there will be over 200 fridges in the country.

This report outlines both the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of community fridges across the UK.

For more information, please go to: www.hubbub.org.uk

The Community Fridge Network is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund. A list of organisations and businesses that support individual fridges across the country can be found on page 21.