CELEBRITY chef and co-presenter of Channel 4’s Friday Night Feast, Jimmy Doherty, visited the Community Fridge earlier this month, the very first project of its kind in the UK.
Jimmy, who presents the programme with Jamie Oliver, and their production team spent the afternoon in Frome speaking to those who set up the project and those who came to donate. The programme which will feature the Community Fridge is expected to air in January or February next year.
Speaking after the filming, Anna Francis, Frome Town Council’s resilience officer, who helped set up the project said, “We had great fun when Jimmy and his team visited. We collected surplus from many of the fantastic local businesses that support the scheme including Frome Wholefoods, the Bakehouse on Cheap Street, Divas and Greggs. Jimmy was very impressed with the set up and with our team of volunteers who help run the project.
“We knew that the project was the first of its kind in the UK but weren’t expecting so much coverage. We have had six or seven groups contact us subsequently to set up similar projects and we have developed an open-source toolkit for others to share.
“We think that every community should have a fridge – with 4million tonnes of good food going to waste each year while 4million people are living in food poverty, it makes so much sense to link up and share surplus.”
The project – which shares surplus food in a bid to cut food waste while providing a ‘life-line’ for people who are struggling – has already enabled over 2,000 items of ‘surplus’ food to be shared by businesses and the local community. To get involved or help pick up surplus food contact: fridge@edventurefrome.org or call 01373 475574 www.facebook.com/communityfridgefrome
