In November, the Rothschild Foundation funded national charity Hubbub to bring its successful Community Fridge project to Buckinghamshire. The grant was awarded through the Resource Sustainability funding theme of the Foundation’s Impact programme. Funding in this theme is awarded to organisations who address sustainability across the food system, from farming through to food consumption, or who encourage public engagement with these issues.

The first Buckinghamshire Community Fridge was formally launched by the Mayor of High Wycombe at the Oakridge Baptist Church on 11th December. The fridge will be open from 9:30 – 16:30 on Mondays and Thursdays to for anyone to help themselves to fresh, quality food that would otherwise be wasted. Residents and businesses are being encouraged to share surplus food.

The event was attended by representatives from Hubbub, the Rothschild Foundation, local community groups and supermarkets as well as key members of the local Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities, reflecting the diversity of High Wycombe. The event had wide local press coverage including in the Bucks Herald, Wycombe Sound and BBC Radio Three Counties.

The fridge will be run by Women’s Cultural Arena, which brings together women from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds to support one another and promote cultural exchange. As well as reducing food waste, the group will use the fridge to strengthen community bonds, as a hub for food education and to promote the benefits of the sharing economy.

A further Community Fridge will be launched at the Aylesbury Vineyard Storehouse in 2019.