Knaphill Community Fridge has been running for 5 years, growing from a small project to supplying hundreds of people a week with fresh food they may not otherwise have access to. Situated in Knaphill, a village in Surrey, they work with FareShare to take surplus food and redistribute it, reducing food waste. Their impact on the community is nothing less than invaluable.
Jules Hopkins is the driving force behind Knaphill Community Fridge. Inspired by the TV programme Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, in which they used excess supplies of vegetables to cook new meals, Jules decided to make it her own mission to tackle food waste. She said:
“We’re open to everyone – we don’t ask for a referral, we’re about keeping food out of the landfill. We’re not necessarily trying to alleviate poverty – that’s a bigger job than we can cope with.”
Despite this, Knaphill Community Fridge’s impact on those facing food poverty is significant, sometimes feeding 70 families in a day. Their dedicated team of volunteers allows them to run 5 days a week, almost every week of the year, and cumulatively they’ve stopped over 162 tonnes of food from going into the landfill. Instead, this food is redistributed to those who really need and appreciate it.
Jules told us:
“Getting food from FareShare has been invaluable, because it’s good quality, fresh, and people can make their own food which works for any cultural or ethnic preferences. It’s always consistent, and it goes with the seasons which is great to teach people how to cook with the food that’s available at the time.”
Rob, a supply teacher, described the huge impact the Community Fridge has had on his life. As a victim of domestic abuse, he has struggled to find stability in his life, and had to turn to the Community Fridge in order to sustain himself.
“This place has been a lifesaver to me, as one of the people that falls through the cracks. I come here for two things – I come here for treats for my son, and I come here for food to survive.”
Another beneficiary described what the Community Fridge means to him:
“It means a lot, because there are two components – the free food, and also the social aspect. The range of free food is absolutely fantastic – swedes, turnips, potatoes, broccoli… The social aspect comes from meeting other people, and there’s a more diverse collection of individuals that come here than you might imagine.”
In an area like Surrey known for its affluence, services like the Knaphill Community Fridge are all the more important to address the needs of those living in hidden pockets of deprivation. Jules told us:
“I think people expect those in Surrey to be of middle class, white background, but we have a lot of different people coming here: it may be people who have ill health, people who’ve taken in a family member unexpectedly, it may be refugees, a lot of people who are just struggling in general to find work… so everyone’s welcome.”
Reducing food waste, fighting hunger and bringing people together from all backgrounds, Knaphill Community Fridge is a heartwarming story proving that even in bleak situations, there is always beauty to be found.