Community Fridge

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 
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