Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Fenland community fridge project postponed due to lockdown




A new community fridge has had to postpone opening its doors for over a month.

Environmental charity PECT with the backing of Fenland District Council was due to launch the new community fridge project in March on Monday (11).

However, the opening has now been put back until after the February half-term.

Opening of a new community fridge in March has had to be postponed - the fridge being collected and transported to the FACT hub. (43868952)
Opening of a new community fridge in March has had to be postponed - the fridge being collected and transported to the FACT hub. (43868952)

A spokesman for the charity said: “We are disappointed that we cannot open the fridge as planned, the reasons for this are related to COVID-19 and the new national lockdown.

“The fridge is situated in the Community Hub at Fenland Association for Community Transport (FACT) in March, because of the number of people who must shield again as per government advice the focus of FACT’s activities have changed from taking people to the shops and appointments to shopping for essentials and collecting and delivering prescriptions.

“This means that the community hub space is closed to the public and has been commandeered for packing hundreds of shopping boxes to be delivered to the most vulnerable townsfolk of March and the surrounding area.

“Unlike established fridges who have had time to put in place their procedures for this level of lockdown this is a new enterprise and without any prior history of how the fridge works, and not knowing how many people might come to use the fridge we have decided to postpone the opening at least until it is safe to open schools again, perhaps after the February half term.

“I hope people appreciate that it is a very different set of circumstances opening a community fridge as we were in tier two as to a full lock-down with COVID-19 rates soaring and we need to ensure we protect the public, volunteers, and FACT staff.

“We have recruited eight keen volunteers and we will continue to work with them in the meantime, providing further training and accessing potential food supplies.

“Both PECT and FACT continue to support people at this difficult time with projects such as Warm Homes Fenland and community shopping for those who are shielding.”

The aim of the project was to tackle food waste and help family most in need this winter. Many people in the UK struggle to afford food and, according to the Food Foundation, 14 per cent of families with children have experienced food insecurity in the past few months – made even worse by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

PECT is aiming to provide the community fridge, which has been donated by Curry’s and will be located at the FACT (Fenland Association for Community Transport) hub in Martin Avenue.

The project has been made possible thanks to Section 106 funds for environmental projects administered by Fenland District Council.

The community fridge will enable residents to access free food – sourced from farms, cafes, stores, and supermarkets – that would otherwise have gone to waste. PECT has previously established two community fridges in Peterborough, which have successfully helped reduce food waste at the same time as providing free food for the community.

“In areas where there is demand for emergency food aid, these fridges can provide the added benefit of giving vulnerable residents access to fresh food without any stigma,” explained PECT’s Health and wellbeing lead Karen Igho, when the project was announced.

She continued:“Any member of the public can access the community fridges, with no referrals needed. We want to help ease pressure on residents who are struggling to feed themselves and their families.”



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More