You may have
noticed I have been quiet on the blogging front over the past month or so. I
have been quietly working on a project which is due to launch tomorrow.
In September
I applied for funding from Auckland Council as part of the Love Food Hate Waste
Fund. With that funding I planned on setting up NZ's first solidarity fridge.
The solidarity fridge started in Spain and from there
the concept has been adopted by other countries and cities such as Germany,
Argentina, Belgium, Frome's community fridge, and Dubai's sharing fridge. I named my fridge a
community fridge as the fridge would be located in a new community space, the
Griffith's Gardens, also launching at the same time. After a lot of planning,
health and safety documents, friends to recruit and cafes to approach, the
fridge is finally launching, on Wednesday 30th November.
I have known
about the food waste issues our society faces for several years now, having
seen a plethora of rubbish bins owned by supermarkets, restaurants, bakeries
and even households full of edible food. This is something that shocks me
deeply, as having studied environmental science at university I am well aware
of the amount of effort, energy and resources it takes to get food to your
plate (food miles). Furthermore, majority of this food that is wasted is still
perfectly edible, yet so many people are struggling to make ends meet or going
hungry. I learned that this food was wasted due to a number of reasons, one of
which was over-planning and having surplus with no means of distribution. I
won't get too much in to the food waste issue as I have blogged about it before.
I first
heard about the solidarity fridges through my friend who had used them in
Germany. Having an interest in sharing economies and food waste I thought
it sounded like a wonderful idea. Not long after hearing about this idea
funding became available through Auckland Council for a Love Food Hate Waste
event or initiative. From there the idea started to become a reality.
Ready for the launch!
How does the fridge work?
Members of
the public and local businesses can donate any surplus food they may have. Most
food rescue initiatives in Auckland require large amounts of food, the
community fridge is great for anyone who has only a small amount of food to
donate. Anyone can help themselves to the food in the fridge. Take what you
need, leave what you don't. The fridge is checked and cleaned twice daily by a
team of volunteers. Any food that is not safe to eat will be composted on site
in the Hungry Bin worm farm provided by Auckland Council. A full food safety
plan has been developed specially for the fridge, as well as an induction
manual for the volunteers. The fridge is located on the corner of Mayoral
Drive and Wellesley Street West, at the Griffiths Gardens. The fridge will be
open 24/7 until the 23rd of December 2016.
Accepted
donations:
Fresh
fruit and vegetables – they must be mould free
Tinned
and dried goods – all items must be unopened
Sandwiches
biscuits and slices- this food can only be accepted if is less then two
days old and is labelled with the date and time it was made. Labels
are provided at the fridge.
Cooked
food from registered kitchens who have a current food safety certificate.
Cooked food can only be accepted if is less then two days old and is
labelled with the date and time it was made. Labels are provided at
the fridge.
We cannot
accept:
Unsealed
or half eaten food
Mouldy
fruit, vegetables or bread
Raw
fish, meat, eggs, milk
Cooked
food e.g. salads, curries unless donated by a registered kitchen and
correctly labelled
Food
that has been recalled by the manufacturer
If you want to stay up to date on the fridge make sure you follow me on:
