Eco Fridge
Despite growing public awareness of the issue, food waste is still on the rise in the UK; seven million tonnes of food was wasted last year, with households throwing away a staggering total of £13 billion worth of food, and the hospitality and food service sector wasting £3 billion.
Here at Chillingham Road Primary, we want to do our part in reducing food waste and, at the same time, improving community links.
Our school catering team produces good quality meals for children and staff but there are often leftovers. We have completed a food waste prevention project - Eat Smart - in partnership with Bind, and one of the points in our action plan to reduce the school’s food waste is to set up an Eco Fridge - this will be managed by the school and catering staff to ensure food safety.
While redistribution networks exist for large retailers, until now, there have been limited options for schools and businesses to get their surplus perishable food to those who can put it to good use, safely and within the ‘use-by’ date.
Some of the most commonly wasted food from schools includes fresh fruit and vegetables, breakfast club items and unserved meals.
How to access the fridge:
The Eco Fridge will be located in our extended school provision and will be accessed via the Extended School entrance on 10th Avenue. All families will be able to access the food free of charge from 3:20pm to 4:15pm. We will notify families about contents/quantities of fridge each day via School Comms and on a blackboard outside of the Extended School entrance.
Our school is a Pioneer School for Bind’s Eco Fridge project. The fridge will be in place for the summer term, during which time we will gather data and feedback and hope to roll the project out next academic year.
Important information for using the Eco Fridge:
- Once food is taken from the Eco Fridge it is the responsibility of the recipient to follow the advice provided on the label
- Store the food in a fridge at home and use before the use-by date
- When reheating the food, make sure it is heated until it reaches a temperature of 75.c for 2 minutes (steaming hot through). Food should only be reheated once.
Our plan is to develop a more general community space where you will be able to access: a dry store of donated perishable goods/ donated toiletries/ pre-loved uniform and of course, the Eco Fridge contents. We will maintain updates with you as the project evolves.
Thanks to CDA for donating the fridge to us for free!
https://www.cda.co.uk/refrigeration/freestanding-fridge-freezers/
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