This year Co-op has decided to bin the traditional approach to Christmas TV adverts and instead will put the spotlight on sharing good quality surplus food. The retailer hosted the UK’s first ever live TV ad highlighting how community-based solutions are cutting waste. The advert ran on 26th November during Coronation Street taking viewers to a live link of a Community Fridge within the Afghanistan and Central Asian Community Centre in Feltham. 

This is one of over 200 fridges in Hubbub’s Community Fridge Network, and in even more exciting news, Co-op is partnering with Hubbub to fund Community Fridges, doubling the network to 500 fridges across the country. This will save 34 million meals from going to waste every year!

The Rothschild Foundation is proud to be funding Hubbub, to help initiate fridges in high areas of deprivation, particularly Aylesbury and High Wycombe. Community Fridges have become focal points for many people, creating a space where they can have access to free food, a place to meet people, learn new cooking skills, and be somewhere to donate home-grown fruit and veg if they are sufficiently green fingered to have created a surplus.

The Community Fridge initiative is at an exciting point in time and experiencing rapid growth due to increased demand and growing corporate support. Support from the Rothschild Foundation will ensure ten communities in-need benefit from the Community Fridge and are supported to develop activities which support access to healthy and sustainable food and skills locally. Support is sought for the period from late 2021 to 2023. We are committed to aiding community fridges in areas of need, as well as transition community fridges to food skills hubs in order to assist in community resilience.

Find, start or donate to your local Community Fridge. And follow the campaign on social media with the hashtag #CommunityFridge.