A community fridge aiming to help Greater Manchester families during the cost of living crisis has opened in Oldham, gaining the support of Andy Burnham and Oldham Council Leader, Amanda Chadderton.
The pilot scheme is a partnership between Co-op and environmental charity Hubbub, aiming to help fight food insecurity as more and more people struggle to put food on the table in the wake of rising energy costs and inflation.
On Wednesday 1 March, Amanda, alongside the Mayor of Greater Manchester unveiled the community fridge at Greenacres Community Centre.
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A community fridge is a space that brings people together to eat, connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste, where local people can share food, including surplus from supermarkets, local food businesses, producers, households and gardens.
The fridge will be run by local groups with the main purpose of saving fresh food from going to waste - something that is now more important than ever with the current high costs of living.
Oldham Council Leader, Amanda Chadderton, said: "With high costs of living continuing to impact everyone we need to urgently address the issue of food waste and food insecurity.
"In September of 2022, over a quarter of households (nationally) with children experienced food insecurity, that represents over four million children. We also know that shockingly, 27% of UK children are living in poverty, and in Oldham this figure is almost 40%.
"For young people, some of which the cost of living crisis has heavily impacted, food insecurity contributes to increased anxiety, poor mental health, poor social and emotional development, and a reduced level of achievement in school.
"That’s why I’m so pleased to see this scheme taking place as I know it will make a real difference to families and those who are struggling. One step at a time, ideas like this will help us work toward our goal of ending food insecurity and the inequalities it brings.”
The journey for this Community Fridge Pilot began with the Co-op and the environmental charity Hubbub supporting the ‘In Our Nature’ programme which is a partnership between Manchester Climate Change Agency, Hubbub, Groundwork Greater Manchester, Amity, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research and Manchester City Council.
Following the success of the community fridges through the In Our Nature programme, Hubbub and the Co-op were asked if they could pilot and fund a cluster of community fridges in a Greater Manchester locality which would provide one in every 30-50,000 neighbourhood footprint. They agreed to undertake this pilot in Oldham as there was already a community fridge based at the Failsworth Co-op Academy.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “I congratulate Hubbub, Co-op and Action Together for launching their Community Fridge Pilot in Oldham following a request by the Greater Manchester Food Security Action Network to pilot a cluster model in the city region. This initiative will involve working with the local community to tackle food insecurity and reduce food waste amidst the difficult times we’re in with the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis.
“Our recent Greater Manchester Residents Survey found that 8 in 10 people say their cost of living has increased over the past month and around 70,000 more households are experiencing food insecurity compared to last spring. People are clearly struggling and that’s why projects such as community fridges are so vital in providing a safety net for those who need it.
“It will also contribute to our ambitions towards carbon net zero by reducing avoidable food waste by making sure it goes to people. This community-led approach can help residents access healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate food in a dignified way whilst also helping the environment.
"I hope this pilot is a success and I look forward to seeing it rolled out across Greater Manchester.”
According to Hubbub, there are now over 450 community fridges across the UK, where anyone can meet their neighbours and take home good food that would otherwise go to waste.
Matt Hood, Managing Director, Co-op Food added: “We recognise our responsibility to make a genuine difference to the communities we serve and absolutely believe that everybody should have access to good food. We’re pleased to be working with our partners to grow the essential community fridge network to directly help people in Oldham come together to eat, connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste. It is a real and significant step for this community to ensure fairer access to food for all.
“For all at Co-op, this feels like a real step in the right direction to ensure fairer access to food for all.”
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