World's First Community Fridge Network To Double In Size l Press Release l Hubbub

Strictly embargoed until 00:01, 6th March 2019

WORLD’S FIRST COMMUNITY FRIDGE NETWORK TO DOUBLE IN SIZE Hubbub announces plans for 100 UK Community Fridges by the end of 2020

The world’s first Community Fridge Network will double in size by the end of 2020 thanks to National Lottery funding, environmental charity Hubbub announced today. Following the success of the first 50 Community Fridges, the charity aims to support the opening of a further 50 sites over the next 22 months.

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Founded by Hubbub in July 2017, the Community Fridge Network and fridges within the Network have been funded by backers including The National Lottery Community Fund, Sainsbury’s, The Rothschild Foundation, Bosch, North London Waste Authority, the Morrison’s Foundation, Samsung and the Climate Challenge Fund. The Community Fridge Network launched with the aim of reducing food waste in the UK. Community Fridges provide a place for local residents and businesses to donate surplus food, which is available for anyone in the 2 community to take – with each Fridge on average saving half a tonne of food per month .

As well as reducing food waste, the Fridges encourage a spirit of sharing and can help strengthen community bonds and increase local activities. In a survey of 21 Community 3 Fridges , 50% of Fridges said people are sharing skills, 45% stated their Community Fridge is linked to cooking and growing workshops and 30% said people are sharing other household items.

Food waste remains a huge issue in the UK, with £13 billion of edible food thrown away from 4 our homes every year and a further £3 billion of food wasted by the hospitality and food service 5 sector . With the opening of the 50th Community Fridge, the Network is redistributing an average of 25 tonnes of food each month, the equivalent of approximately 50,000 meals.

To celebrate the success of the Community Fridge Network, Hubbub has joined forces with 2013 MasterChef winner, Natalie Coleman who will be visiting Food Academy Community Fridge in Newham on 6th March 2019 to make delicious dishes with the ingredients she discovers there. The recipes will be uploaded to the Hubbub website and social channels after the visit.

Natalie Coleman, 2013 MasterChef winner and chef said: “I am very excited to be part of Hubbub’s campaign as Community Fridges are really helping to tackle and raise awareness of the food waste issue. I have been guilty of throwing food out unnecessarily in the past but since becoming a chef I realise that we can cut down on waste and use it to create new dishes or snacks. I am looking forward to visiting the Community Fridge in Newham where I can share some of my ideas and recipes to turn old ingredients into new exciting dishes.”

Trewin Restorick, Founder and CEO, Hubbub said: “We’re thrilled with how successful Community Fridges have been and the rapid growth of the Network. The Fridges not only save valuable food, they help bring people together and have become real community hubs. Some people had doubts at the outset as to whether the Community Fridge Network would work, but the Fridges have developed to be positive, social spaces that have proven the doubters wrong.

We’d encourage anyone interested in visiting or opening a Fridge to visit our website and we’d love even more businesses to get involved as demand is outstripping supply in some areas.”

James Harcourt, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players another 50 Community Fridges are set to open across the UK. We are proud to be supporting Hubbub which gives communities the opportunity to learn new skills, and create a healthier and greener lifestyle together by sharing food and reducing waste. Not only will this strengthen communities, but also enable them to thrive.”

Also known as ‘Solidarity’ or ‘Honesty’ Fridges, Community Fridges have been successfully introduced in Spain, Germany as well as the UK. Hubbub’s Community Fridge Network provides free advice, resources and support to Community Fridge organisers around challenges such as legal requirements and food hygiene, as well as creating opportunities for communities to share experiences and learn from each other.

More information on The Community Fridge Network, including a map of Fridge locations and advice for those interested in setting up a Community Fridge can be found at www.hubbub.org. uk/the-community-fridge. ***ENDS*** For further information and interview opportunities, or to arrange filming of Natalie Coleman and Hubbub spokesperson at the Food Academy Community Fridge on 6th March 2019 please contact the Barley Communications team. Natalie Coleman will be at the location from 7:30am12noon. There are also alternate filming opportunities at the Food Academy with chef Max le Manna who will also be cooking produce from the Fridge from 12:30-17:00.

NOTES TO EDITORS For more information contact the Hubbub team at Barley Communications: Sam Williams sam.williams@barleycommunications.co.uk 07949 607029 Nicola Ennis nicola.ennis@barleycommunications.co.uk 07837 201085 The Community Fridge Network (CFN) is an independent Network of Community fridges with an ambition to normalise a spirt of sharing and reduce food waste. Anyone can give or take from a CFN fridge regardless of means. Some Community Fridges exist outside of the CFN. 1

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Hubbub, 2018

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Hubbub

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www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Household_food_waste_in_the_UK_2015_Report.pdf

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www.wrap.org.uk/content/hospitality-and-food-service-wraps-work-0

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FRIDGE NETWORK The Community Fridge Network was set up in July 2017 by Hubbub with funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, North London Waste Authority, The Funding Network and Sainsbury’s and with fridges and freezers donated by Bosch. The network received a significant boost in December 2017 thanks to £160,000 of National Lottery funding from Big Lottery Fund and a further £45,000 from the Morrison’s Foundation in 2018.

The network provides a free support service for any group setting up or running a Community Fridge. It aims to make it easier for new projects to become established, and to help the concept flourish across the UK and beyond.

Members of the CFN:

• Are legally registered and have public liability insurance.

• Register their fridge as a Food Business and receive a hygiene rating.

• Risk assess and demonstrate that their health and safety procedures have the approval of their local Environmental Health Officer.

• Agree to capture and report back on impact every 3 months, using the simple measurement framework provided by Hubbub.

ABOUT HUBBUB Hubbub is a UK based charity that creates environmental campaigns with a difference. They design positive and playful campaigns that inspire people to make healthier, greener lifestyle choices, which more often than not help save money and bring people together. Hubbub concentrates on things people are passionate about and are relevant day-to-day, linked to fashion, food, homes and neighbourhoods. Hubbub runs the Community Fridge Network. www.hubbub.org.uk Twitter: @hubbubuk

A B O U T N ATA L I E C O L E M A N Natalie Coleman was winner of MasterChef in 2013.

Since winning MasterChef Natalie Coleman has completed stages at some of the UK’s best restaurants including Le Gavroche (Michel Roux Jr), Viajante (Nuno Mendes), St Johns (Fergus Henderson), The Kitchin (Tom Kitchen), L’enclume (Simon Rogan), The Berkeley Hotel (Marcus Wareing), Midsummer House (Daniel Clifford) and The Hand & Flowers (Tom Kerridge).

She has also written her own cookbook Winning Recipes: For Every Day which was published in October 2014. Natalie also enjoys helping children learn to cook and she runs cookery courses in the school holidays.

She is currently Head Chef at The Winchmore pub in London.

T H E N AT I O N A L L O T T E R Y C O M M U N I T Y F U N D We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UKwide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

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