Viva Brighton Issue #68 October 2018

BITS AND BOX
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CHARITY BOX #30: COMMUNITY FRIDGE
Community Fridge is stocked on a
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
and it’s generally empty by Friday.
We get deliveries of anything from
sandwiches and cookies to milk, cheese
and fresh fruit & veg. It all comes from
reputable suppliers who can provide a
traceability record, so we know where
the food has come from. Anything
without a wrapper generally comes
with a product information sheet from
the supplier, so we know exactly what’s in it.
Around 25 people use the fridge on a weekly
basis, many of them residents on the estate. It’s
promoted to individuals who can’t afford food, via
places like the food banks or the job centre. But
at the end of the day, it’s about using up food that
would otherwise have been wasted.
I don’t get a list of guaranteed food
items – it’s kind of ‘get what you’re
given’ – but actually people prefer that
because it gives them a bit of variety.
We’re also utilising our community
garden, which is run by Brighton &
Hove Organic Gardening Group here
at the centre. We’ve been growing
apples, pears, tomatoes, beans,
courgettes, corn… It means we can go
from planting the seeds right through to picking
the fruit and vegetables to go back into the fridge,
so it becomes much more than just a fridge.
As told to Rebecca Cunningham by Sean Sheppard
Community Fridge is at Phoenix Community
Centre. fb.com/phoenixcommunitybrighton