Wyre Forest’s first community fridge opened in April, giving local residents the opportunity to use up unwanted fresh food that would normally go into the bin.
The community fridge is located at St Peter’s Community Church in Birchen Coppice and was brought to the church through a partnership involving community champions Peter & Kathy Jezukiewicz, Wyre Forest District Council and Worcestershire County Council’s Waste and Public Health teams.
A community fridge is as simple an idea as the name suggests: it is a publicly accessible fridge, for the use of the whole community. Uncooked food is donated by individuals, food businesses and supermarkets and this food is then available to any members of the community to take. It is not a food bank, anybody can use a community fridge, although a lot of the community fridges work in conjunction with food banks, giving fresh food alongside the staples provided by the food bank.
Quote from Peter/Kathy/Elaine “We are delighted to be opening the first community fridge in Wyre Forest here in Birchen Coppice and giving residents the chance to help reduce the amount of perfectly edible food that currently ends up in the bin. It is also helping those who are struggling due to the cost of living crisis by giving them fresh food when they visit the food bank that the church also runs”.
“The contents of the average Worcestershire black wheelie bin showed that over a third was food waste, and with both Worcestershire County Council and residents feeling the squeeze on their budgets, whatever can be done to cut this food waste and save money, must be a good thing”
Director of Public Health, Lisa McNally added: “We are thrilled to fund the new Community Fridge. As well as stopping unwanted food from going to waste and providing a much-needed boost to people’s budget, the Community Fridge is also a source of nutrition, where people will be able to benefit from connecting with others, sharing cooking tips and generally having a chat.”
The community fridge is based at St Peter’s Community Church, Meredith Green, Birchen Coppice, Kidderminster DY11 7EJ. The fridge will be open on Sunday from 9:30am-1:00pm, Monday 9:30am-12:00pm and Thursday 7:00-10:00pm.