Community Fridges
Greener Orkney is pleased to announce they have been successful in their application to join the project launched by the Co-Op and Hubbub, aimed at redistributing 6.8 million meals a year. Orkney’s first Community Fridge opened in March 2022 in Kirkwall, a second one opened in Stromness in July 2022 and a third in Dounby in October 2022.
2022/23: Total amount of food from the Community Fridges
Food collected (kg)
Equivalent meals
Greener Orkney joins the Community Fridge network
What are Community Fridges?
Community Fridges are a platform for sharing surplus food within a community to reduce food waste going to landfill. There are over 100 community fridges across the UK with each fridge sharing one to four tonnes of food per month. Each year these community fridges redistribute 975 tonnes of food surplus (equivalent to 1.9 million meals) and benefit up to 77,500 people.
Greener Orkney was awarded a grant by the Co-op of £4,000 towards the initial setup costs.
How do Community Fridges Work?
The premise of a Community Fridge is simple – any available items can be taken by anyone. As well as food sharing, Community Fridges give people opportunities to contribute through volunteering, learning new skills and sharing their existing skills.
About Greener Orkney’s Community Fridges
The project started with one Community Fridge being established at 26 Bridge Street, Kirkwall and this was followed by a second Fridge at 116 Victoria Street in Stromness The operation of the third Fridge at Dounby, which is located within the Community School, is paused during the summer holiday.
Opening times are tabulated below (all subject to availability of food):
| Day | Kirkwall | Stromness | Dounby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8:30pm-9:00pm | 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Tuesday | 12:00pm-2:00pm 8:30pm-9:00pm | 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Wednesday | 8:30pm-9:00pm | 12:00pm-1:00pm 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Thursday | 12:00pm-1:00pm 8:30pm-9:00pm | 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Friday | 8:30pm-9:00pm | 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Saturday | 12:00pm-2:00pm | 12:00pm-2:00pm 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed | 8:30pm-9:00pm | Closed |
We have over thirty active volunteers who open and close the fridges, collect food from suppliers and ensure the cleanliness of the fridge environment. There is a dedicated Community Fridge Facebook page and volunteers update it to advise what food is available.
2022/23 Community Fridge Running Total
| Month | Location | Food collected (kg) | Monthly visitors | Cumulative food (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,622 1,533 | 401 268 | 26,691 13,577 1,111 |
| September 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,575 727 | 383 231 | 25,069 12,044 1,111 |
| August 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,575 709 | 430 277 | 23,493 11,317 1,111 |
| July 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,556 774 | 384 317 | 21,918 10,608 1,111 |
| June 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,396 866 | 348 291 | 20,362 9,834 1,111 |
| May 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,491 713 34 | 403 315 7 | 18,967 8,968 1,111 |
| April 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 2,600 841 52 | 398 264 5 | 17,476 8,255 1,077 |
| March 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 884 496 168 | 434 269 115 | 14,876 7,414 1,025 |
| February 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,431 507 116 | 525 289 93 | 13,993 6,918 857 |
| January 2023 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,571 972 139 | 543 367 97 | 12,561 5,549 741 |
| December 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,558 1,463 244 | 566 326 102 | 10,991 5,439 603 |
| November 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness Dounby | 1,657 1,016 359 | 569 414 222 | 9,432 3,976 359 |
| October 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness | 975 564 | 465 350 | 7,775 2,959 |
| September 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness | 636 1,096 | 424 396 | 6,801 2,396 |
| August 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness | 958 985 | 486 408 | 6,165 1,300 |
| July 2022 | Kirkwall Stromness | 1,345 315 | 575 56 | 5,207 315 |
| June 2022 | Kirkwall | 1,350 | 524 | 3,862 |
| May 2022 | Kirkwall | 1,114 | 472 | 2,513 |
| April 2022 | Kirkwall | 776 | 376 | 1,398 |
| March 2022 | Kirkwall | 622 | 160 | 622 |
We are extremely grateful to the following organisations for their support of the Community Fridges:
Help make a difference
If any organisations or individuals are interested in helping with, or finding out more about the project, please reach out to Greener Orkney by sending an email to greenerorkney@gmail.com.