Community Fridge
Reminder to share video from the Bridge Project.
Sticking plaster or system change? Maybe the sticking plaster protects while healing takes place? What does the healing look like:
- Talking to:
- Local people
- Supermarket bosses
- representatives
- Asking questions
- Getting angry
- New experiments
- Sharing information – people need to know about it to use it/help out
Possible bolt ons/developments
- Community kitchen
- Cookery classes
- Composting
- Shared community meals#
- Community building – people who care#
- Engaging everyone
- Cargo bikes
- Fermentation
Branching out from just food to share
- Clothes
- Already happening in Porty – could connect…
- Tools
- Toys
- Time
- Workspace
How people feel about it
- Joyful sharing
- Feeling like I’m doing by bit
- Ashamed of needing it
- Wary about shaming supermarkets
- Can be addictive – people can’t stop collecting food once they’ve started
What’s already happening in Edinburgh
- WHALE – have a fridge – means more people are using their space – Thursdays and Fridays
- Pilton – community garden and weekly shared meal
- SHRUB – zero waste coordination hub in Edinburgh but have got overwhelmed – trying to start local hubs around Edinburgh to spread the workload
- Refugee Community Kitchen
- The Pantry – 3 in Edinburgh – the Green House Pantry in Craigmillar – pay monthly for several perks including food – THursdays and Fridays
- Edinburgh College campuses all have fridges – Milton Road has one
- Richmond Church – Thursdays
- Redhall Walled Garden – have a cafe using rescued food
- Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts – chef run lockdown startup using rescued food.
- Breakfast club – Towerbank
A Dream Fridge
Details/ways to do it
- Some foods go much more quickly than others – how to stop the early people from taking all the good stuff – maybe a Sticker system – you can only take 4 items with stickers
- Just a fridge – people can leave leftovers as well – doesn’t need to be stagged but good to have people to ask for donations, to clear and clean the fridge
- Sharing meals with neighbours – if you go down the official route it can get complex with health and safety – there’s an online course for £12.
- Small fee for a bargain bag – lets you give away a mix of quick and slower to move items
- Raffle tickets – mean that people take turns getting the best choice
- There’s often a lot of sugary carbs – not always the healthiest choice
Possible partners/connections
- Churches
- Community growing
- Schools
- Composting projects
- Theatre
- Libraries
- Hostels
- Bike hire/loans
- breakfast/lunch clubs
- Restaurants
- Places that don’t use their resources all the time – so we can use it when they don’t
Next steps
- Talk to other people locally about this
- Be willing to take food when needed
- Volunteer with some of the projects mentioned
- Collaborate with the community growing conversation on a wider event around our Portobello food system.
- Check with the following for WHAT WE NEED: Space for a fridge and/or freezer AND keys to the building
- Library
- Bellfield
- Pits
- Sharing information – not enough people know about this
- Map of food rescue projects in Edinburgh