It’s heartbreaking to see so much surplus food go to waste whilst millions of people in the UK are experiencing chronic hunger. Collectively, the UK throws away around 10 million tonnes of food waste in a single year even though 8 million people are in food poverty. Households account for over half of the food waste generated and there are some easy ways to reduce home food waste. There are also bigger things we can do for the wider community.
How are some communities tackling food waste in their local areas? Read or listen to the inspiring examples below. If you are already doing something about food waste, jump ahead if you want to do something bigger.
Inspiration read
700 community fridges (and counting)
Creating spaces to share food
Environmental charity Hubbub coordinates a network of community fridges across the UK. These are independent community assets, set up, owned and managed by not-for-profit and community-led organisations. They come in all forms, from community centres and schools to shipping containers, cafes and shopping centres. Unlike most food banks, you don’t need a referral, so anyone can use a food sharing community fridge at any time, but some organisers may impose limits on how much you can take. Hubbub’s Community Fridge Network (CFN) now supports over 700 groups running fridges across the UK!
Providing support to each other
Local businesses and people donate fresh, good-quality surplus food that would otherwise be wasted to their community fridge, where the donated food is then made freely available for local people to come and collect. Volunteers at community fridges also collect fresh, nutritious food that cannot be sold from a variety of sources, such as retailers, restaurants, farmers, allotments and households. As well as stopping good food from going to waste, people can also take part in other activities, learning new skills such as how to grow or cook food, or simply drop in for a chat.
Stirring the pot for positive change
People are often understandably reluctant to acknowledge they need help to feed themselves and their children. One way round this is to consider surplus food distribution as an environmental initiative to combat food waste. Anyone is welcome to the food, to help get it eaten (in contrast to food banks, which only supply non-perishable items and usually require a referral). One of the biggest positives to come out of community fridges is the networks that are established amongst community groups, volunteers, food suppliers and the local council. It’s not only food moving through these networks, but also information, support and problem solving.
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Inspiration listen
Do Something Bigger
What would inspire you to do something bigger for climate and nature? In this, the first episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast series, Do Something Bigger, we introduce our year-long campaign: 25…
Do something bigger
If you’re looking to start your own community fridge, then your next step is to become a CFN member. Check out these other great ways of reducing food waste and helping redistribute surplus food.
Get food, give food
FoodShare supplies over 8,000 charities and community groups across the UK, reaching nearly one million people and distributing 57,000 tonnes of food in a single year. With the support of 26,000 volunteers, they donate food for a wide range of organisations (community centres, schools, day centres, faith organisations and community food centres) to give to local community members and people in need. Reach out to FoodShare if you work for or with a similar kind of organisation that could help turn all this surplus food into meals.
Support food redistribution
Eggcup is a scheme for households with limited budgets to receive a carrier bag of food each week for £5. Part of a national food network that takes large amounts of surplus food from across the UK, Eggcup makes the most of surplus food and helps cut down on unnecessary waste. In the latest council climate action scorecards, 58 out of 164 district councils support Eggcup in their local area. If your council is not yet on board, consider supporting this food recycling scheme or another local surplus food redistribution initiative.
Digest the rest
Some food cannot be saved and redistributed. In the twin towns of Malton and Norton – where local community groups have the ambition of ‘zero food waste from Yorkshire’s food capital’ – a community anaerobic digester has been installed to take unusable food and bio waste from local manufacturers, breweries and retailers, and convert it into heat, biomethane and biofertiliser for neighbouring buildings, businesses and farms. Digesting this food waste is an integral part of their aim of becoming the UK’s first circular economy market towns.
Discover more
Create a food partnership
Farm with nature
Produce local food
Food & Agriculture
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