FLITWICK COMMUNITY FRIDGE

What is a Community Fridge?

A community fridge is a space that brings people and businesses together to share food, meet up, learn new skills and prevent fresh food from going to waste. Flitwick Community Fridge is open to all; anyone can share or take food, including surplus from supermarkets, local food businesses, producers, households and gardens.

Community fridges are a tried and tested solution to stop good food from going to waste, helping to address two big problems:

Reducing food waste: The average household throws away £810 worth of food each year. Most food waste in the UK (4.1 million tonnes) is avoidable and could have been eaten had it been better managed.
Supporting people impacted by food poverty: A 2023 report by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows that 350,000 more children were pulled into relative poverty in 2021-2022, up from 3.6 million in 2010-11. 71% of poor children live in working families, and 45% of all children in poverty are in families with the youngest child aged under five.

In the context of rocketing food prices and widespread loneliness, many community fridges have become a lifeline and valuable meeting place at the heart of their community. As well as stopping good food from going to waste, people can also take part in other activities, learn new skills such as how to grow or cook food or drop in for a chat. Follow the Flitwick Community Fridge Facebook page for information about our activities and stock updates.

Originally set up by Flitwick Town Council (FTC) in January 2023, Flitwick Community Fridge has steadily built up to redistributing approximately 4,000 kilos of food each month. We’ve received financial support from environmental charity, the Hubbub Foundation and Central Bedfordshire Council, as well as regular financial support and food donations from local businesses. The service is coordinated and delivered by FTC with lots of support from our team of amazing volunteers who give up their time to collect food for redistribution for the benefit of the community.

You can donate to the Flitwick Town Mayor's Charity Community Fund to support the Community Fridge and to fund other projects that will benefit the residents of Flitwick.

Who can use the Community Fridge?

Anyone can donate or receive food from the fridge; you do not need a referral to access food. Please see our guidance below.

You do not need to be a Flitwick resident to use the service!

Location and opening times

Community Fridge You’ll find the fridge in our dedicated Food Hub located at the side of The Rufus Centre, Steppingley Road, Flitwick, MK45 1AH. There is ample free parking if you are visiting by car.

The Food Hub is open Monday to Friday, 09:30-11:30 and 14:30-17:30, and Saturdays, 09:30-1:30 (subject to stock availability).

We also open on Friday, 21:15-21:45 and Sunday, 16:30-17:00, to share the food we have collected from Tesco Flitwick and Waitrose Ampthill that has to be used on the same day. We don’t know what food and how much we will have until the day. You can take up to five items on a first-come, first-served basis. The Food Hub is not open at this time.

Based on your feedback, we stick to the published opening times and do not open early. Anyone needing immediate help should visit the main reception outside of these times. We operate a queuing system on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings - you'll be asked to take a ticket when you arrive, which will secure your place in the queue.

What's on offer?

You’ll usually find a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and limited dairy products; what’s available depends on what’s been donated. All food is free. We are not a traditional food bank, although we stock a modest community larder containing dry goods to support anyone in need – speak to our team if you need this.

Our staff and volunteers follow a rigorous food hygiene system, including stock rotation and cleaning. It’s your responsibility to check the food is still fresh and within its use-by date. Some food in the food hub may be past its best before date but will still be perfectly fine to eat. Please read the disclaimer displayed.

When you arrive, please select up to 3kg of food using a basket. Someone from our team will weigh your food and will complete the anonymous form (we only ask for a postcode) to allow us to track the needs and preferences of our service users.

Please be considerate and only take what you need. Our fridge is a shared community resource and is open daily, Monday – Saturday; you are welcome to return another day. Collections are limited to a maximum limit of 3 kilograms of food per household in the same bag.

Additional support

The 'Cost of Living Crisis' continues to impact everyone in our community, but it’s not affecting everyone equally. Please speak to one of our friendly team for friendly, non-judgemental support and advice.

We can offer immediate assistance and support, including referrals to our friends at The Need Project (our local food bank).

Food donations

Most food in our fridge is generously donated by local businesses, including Tesco Flitwick (daily), Aldi Flitwick (weekdays), Waitrose Ampthill (Friday) and Co-op Flitwick (Monday and Wednesday).

We welcome donations to the community fridge including surplus produce from gardens and allotments but we do have strict rules we have to follow. Ask yourself:

Is it at risk of being wasted?
Is it fresh and within its use-by date?
Is it good to eat for at least 24 more hours?
Can we accept it? Check the exclusion list below.
Is the packaging unbroken?
Does the packaging have a list of ingredients and allergens? Community fridges can only share food they know the contents of according to Natasha’s Law.

If you want to donate, ask a member of the team to accept and weigh in your unwanted food.

If you are a food business, please contact Sue Quinn, our Community Services Officer, by email or call 01525 631900 to discuss how we can help you reduce your food waste.

We cannot accept:

Alcohol
Cooked food from your home or unregistered sources
Unpasteurised milk or raw milk cheeses
Cooked rice
Meat, including pâtés, ham, sausage rolls etc
Bean sprouts
Loose bakery products with no labelling of allergens
Products that could contain any of the above ingredients

Can I make a financial donation towards the service?

Residents and businesses can make one-off or regular donations to the Flitwick Town Mayor’s Charity (RCN: 1205683) Community Fund, which provides funding for the Flitwick Community Fridge and other projects that directly benefit the residents of Flitwick.

All donations made to the Flitwick Town Mayor’s Charity Community Fund support Flitwick Community Fridge and other projects benefitting Flitwick residents. Click here to donate.

Do you need any volunteers?

Our service is predominantly provided by a team of fantastic volunteers who give their time for free. We are always on the lookout for new people to join our team to help with supermarket collections (predominantly in the evening) and running our food hub, completing important tasks like stock rotation and cleaning and serving clients.

Please email to register your interest in volunteering to support the Flitwick Community Fridge or give us a call on 01525 631900.