Our story
Food Connect aims to redistribute food that is perfectly good to eat but would otherwise go to waste. Currently using two e-cargo bikes and an e-van to offer this zero-emissions service in Milton Keynes. Annually, the 200-strong Community Fridge Network redistributes around 5,712 tonnes of surplus food, that's the equivalent of 13.6 million meals*! and welcomes over 375,000 visitors
Community fridges also do so much more than redistribute food, they help people to share skills, stuff and make friends! Find out more about our impact here: https://www.hubbub.org.uk/the-community-fridge
One of the biggest challenges that the Community Fridge Network faces is relying on volunteers to collect surplus food. At times these collections may be late at night, or more than a volunteer can carry.
Food Connect helps bridge the 'final mile' between food businesses and the community.
In its first six months Food Connect:
* Saved 109 tons of food from landfill (260K meals)
* Created 6 green jobs
* Saved 1.7 tonnes of transport emissions
* Saved at least 36 tonnes Green House Gas emissions associated with food
Food Connect currently (October 2021) collects c.5 tonnes of food and redistributes this to over 900 households via six community fridges every week.
Our advice
This pilot service which has been running in Milton Keynes between September 2020 and February 2021 is now an established, successful service. The team are very excited to share their learnings and develop the model in other parts of the UK.
Our metrics
The volume and quality of food surplus redistributed.
CO2 saved from using e-vehicles and reducing food waste.
