I have spoken to Vicky from Narbeth Community Fridge today and she is happy to come and talk to us (when we can) to tell us how it all worked in Bloomfield. Unfortunately thay are closed at the moment as they are restricting how many people can go into the Bloomfield Centre.
Here is a wish list from Nisbet's of the equipment we will need to start the Community Fridge off... what have I forgotten?
These prices are all without VAT.
Double commercial display fridge £950
Refrigeration Cleaning Kit £50
4 Tier wire shelving wide x2 £400
Fly Killer £25
Kitchen Scales Dial 10kg £43
Platform electronic scales £125
First Aid Kit £10
Pedal Binx2 £100
Freezer Bags £8
Blue Roll £7
What else do we need to budget for?
Training costs?
Publicity?
Sure, this is what we will need eventually, but the great news is, I've just heard that we have received a grant for £3500 from Microsoft to start this project up so as soon as we have a venue we can get started...but indeed we should take it slowly to start with... and we still don't have a venue! The facility is for the entire community to try and decrease the amount of food wasted in this community. It is self-service - that's the idea - people with surplus food put it in the community fridge and everybody else comes along to pick it up to use it before it goes to waste...Most food types will be offered that would otherwise end up in the bin...The scales are to weigh the amount of food we save - that is how community fridges are measured... the cleaning kit is for cleaning as it needs to be run to the normal food hygiene rules.
Hiya all. Excuse me for questioning, especially as I didn't attend the meeting that you had, but all this equipment sounds a bit like running before walking. Why is there a need for racks of tiered shelving and two lots of scales, cleaning kit? I thought it was a community fridge, not a self service outlet. I'm wondering who the facility is for and who's toes may be trod upon if many different food types are offered here. What if it doesn't get used? Should we not start small eg fridge, table, book, bins, sanitiser and blue roll before spending more than is necessary.
Tenby Community Fridge Action Plan
Find a suitable lockable, accessible and central location with high footfall and some supervison, possibly Tenby Indoor Market.
Engage local businesses with project, so they will supply their surplus food, helping them to move towards zero waste.
Find a lead organisation to provide public liability insurance cover.
Meet with environmental health to discuss requirements.
Do a risk assessment.
Set up a rota of daily and weekly tasks to maintain food hygiene and stock control.
Set up an induction programme for volunteers, including visiting a nearby community fridge.
Train volunteers to level 1 food hygiene.
Purchase a fridge, freezer, shelves, a table, weighing scales, and cleaning equipment.
Organise suitable signage giving clear instructions to the public and local businesses.
Plan regular meetings with volunteers for on-going training and feedback.
Plan to measure the impact of the community fridge.
First team meeting today, before we reverted to electronic means of communication. The action plan and budget will be ready by the end of this week.
