Published: Thursday 23 September 2021
A new community fridge in North Kensington opens today (23 September), to help combat food waste.
The fridge on the Lancaster West estate will be the 200th to be launched by Hubbub and the 50th to be funded by Co-op - whose support for 100 new community fridges across the country by the end of this year has helped fast-track the expansion of the food-saving initiative.
At the launch event, food waste chef Mark Breen will be cooking Moroccan frittata, panzanella and one ingredient banana ice cream. He will also be joined by two local food legends in a celebration of the estate’s diverse food culture.
Joseph Hunte, who has lived in the area for two years, runs a stall at Portobello Vegan Night Market and will be cooking vegetable fritters and fried plantain dumplings, and Scott Dennis, a resident of the estate and seasoned chef, will cook seasonal shortbread. The cooking demonstrations will offer local families tips and advice on how to reduce food waste, along with recipe cards and a chance to share the delicious food.
Kensington and Chelsea Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith, said: “Producing, transporting and packaging food creates carbon emissions, so making sure good food doesn’t go in the bin is important for the planet, as well as for our communities. Around a third of the general waste in Kensington and Chelsea is food, so cutting this down is one of the best ways to help the environment. We already have a strong community spirit in this area and our new community fridge project with the Coop and Hubbub will make the most of the great sharing and supportive values amongst residents.”
The stats:
- Each fridge redistributes an average of 2.4 tonnes of food per month.
- 2.4 tonnes is equivalent to 5,683 meals.
- The new fridge on Lancaster West Estate is expected to support up to 1,500 residents.
The Council wants to help households cut their average waste by 10kg by the end of April 2022 in line with their ambitious environmental targets of being a carbon-neutral council by 2030 and a carbon-neutral borough by 2040. The new community fridge in North Kensington, established with the support of the Lancaster West Residents’ Association, will form part of the #LancsWestGrowsBest project, which aims to reduce the number of money residents spend on food and support more sustainable living.
James Caspell, Director of Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team said:
“The Lancaster West Community Fridge will help residents reduce food waste and offer a space for residents to come together over food. This, alongside being the first council estate in Kensington and Chelsea to pilot a food waste collection, is the latest part of our vision to transform Lancaster West into a model 21st Century estate that is carbon neutral by 2030.”
For more information on The Community Fridge Network visit: www.hubbub.org.uk/the-community-fridge.