New community fridge to open in Fenland town of March

The environmental charity PECT, working in partnership with FACT, is launching the community fridge to help tackle food waste and support local residents who are most in need. The community fridge will enable people to access free food – sourced from farms, cafés, stores and supermarkets – that would otherwise have gone to waste.

“A community fridge can give vulnerable residents access to emergency food aid without any stigma,” said PECT’s health and wellbeing lead Karen Igho.

“Any member of the public can access the community fridges with no referrals needed. We want to help ease pressure on residents who are struggling to feed themselves and their families, while diverting surplus food from landfill.”

PECT has previously established two community fridges in Peterborough which have helped reduce food waste at the same time as providing free food for the local community. The new project in March will be run day-to-day by volunteers who will monitor and maintain the fridges and collect the food from outlets.

The project has been made possible thanks to developer contributions for environmental projects administered by Fenland District Council.

The fridge will be open on Mondays and Fridays from 10am to noon, and food will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis following all current Covid-19 guidelines.

If people have special dietary requirements they are asked to make contact prior to their visit so that the team can try and accommodate this where possible.

To contact the community fridge team, call 07704 070563.