The Community Fridge Fund or CFF for short is an ongoing project by FoodBlessed which aims to reduce food waste, promote a culture of sharing, and build stronger food-secure communities by funding community fridges in underprivileged areas and refugee camps across Lebanon. 

By definition, Community Fridges are communal places where surplus food is shared between people in a community, by local businesses and individuals.

According to the UN, almost 30% of food waste (65% of which is bio-waste) in Lebanon could be avoided. A Community Fridge is a creative tool to help combat this growing issue. It provides food suppliers (aka donors) with the opportunity to share surplus food with the community and stop food being wasted. 

Across the world, Community Fridges have already helped families and individuals save money, stopped perfectly edible food going to waste and built connections within communities.

WHO RUNS CFF?

The Community Fridge Fund is run by FoodBlessed, a local hunger-relief

and food-rescue initiative, with the aim of empowering community members in reducing hunger in their communities while reducing the amount of fresh food going to waste.

FoodBlessed seeks to raise awareness about sustainable ways of living which make sense economically, morally and environmentally via promoting the concepts of food rescue/recovery, encouraging the adoption of more sustainable farming practice and more equal food distribution schemes both on a national level and international one!

In Lebanon, nearly one-third of the food produced never reaches the table! In the same token, nearly 30% of the Lebanese population struggles to get food on the table while over with higher rates among Syrian and Palestinian refugees. 

Throwing away food and drink which could have been eaten while some individuals can’t afford to feed themselves is not only unacceptable, it is also immoral. Despite growing awareness of food waste, there are few easy ways for people or businesses to get their surplus food or food near its ‘use by’ date to others. FoodBlessed has been working on rescuing food from going to waste since 2012!

By collecting funds needed to install community fridges in areas of need, the CFF project aims to
● PROVIDE easier access to (healthy) food
● CREATE awareness around food insecurity and food surplus within the community where the fridge is installed.
● BUILD a cook-share community (using rescued food) with objectives to build on community development work and provide opportunities for nutrition education

● CURB the massive amounts of methane gas created by food in landfills — methane gas creates 25xs more environmental damage than carbon dioxide.

DO COMMUNITY FRIDGES ACTUALLY WORK?

ABSOLUTELY!! Also known as ‘Solidarity’ or ‘Honesty’ Fridges, Community Fridges have been introduced in Spain, Germany as well as the UK. We’re thrilled with how successful these Community Fridges have been in the areas where they have been introduced and the rapid growth of the Community Fridge Network in the UK and we really hope that we can replicate these successes across Lebanon and later on regionally.

COMMUNITY FRIDGES FEED BELLIES INSTEAD OF BINS! 

By supporting our campaign, not only will you be feeding bellies but will be also helping stop good food from going in the bin. The more people that make use of the food that usually ends up wasted, the more we are saving valuable resources from being wasted.

HOW IS MY DONATION GOING TO BE SPENT?

EVERY $450 raised by the CFF will cover the Initial set up cost of ONE community Fridge! Initial costs include; buying the fridge and associated materials (cleaning equipment, waste bins etc.), possibly running costs, the cost of creating a bespoke space to house the fridge, one-year maintenance and staff time to build your local network and get the word out if this isn’t done by volunteers. Ongoing overhead costs are mostly for electricity, insurance, and any non-volunteer project co-ordination.

WHERE DOES THE FOOD IN THE FRIDGE COME FROM?
Food can be donated by individuals or businesses, so long as it meets the inclusion criteria (WE'VE CREATED A SPECIAL DONATION GUIDELINE FOR THAT).

-Normally, all you need is to spread the word and then people living within the circumference of the fridge will donate their surplus to the fridge instead of discarding it!

-Some fridges can receive food via FoodBlessed who deliver food from retailers to community groups and charities. 

-Community Fridges can receive food from major retailers for a steady supply of surplus through your fridge. In this regards, FoodBlessed will be in conversation with several retailers about supporting the community fridges. 

-Community Fridges can receive food directly from local supermarkets, or small businesses such as bakeries and fruit and veg shops.

The Community Fridge acts as hub for the donated food, enabling it to be made accessible to anyone who can make use of it.

HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THE FOOD DONATED IS SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION?

A team of trained volunteers will be responsible for the daily checking of food, cleaning and temperature monitoring of the fridge. They maintain fridge hygiene standards and ensure unsafe food is disposed of responsibly. The fridge will never have produce that is not good to eat or that is past its use-by date. Clear, easy to follow guidelines inform volunteers and users on how to use the fridge and what items can and cannot go in. 

In the case that any problem arises, donors or donees alike can contact the  Community Fridge Officer who is in charge of the fridge.

HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED?

DONATE

EVERY LITTLE HELPS! Using Launchgood as our platform for online donations, as well as enabling people to donate offline, we are hoping to raise enough funds to install for starters 20 fridges across Beirut with more planned in later stages across Lebanon.  

Our target from this campaign is to raise enough money to be able to purchase and install 10 communal fridges to be distributed around Beirut and 10 community relief fridges to be distributed across several refugee camps, both Palestinian and Syrian.  So in total 20 fridges that we hope will be in full swing ad already operating this time around next year!

YOU CAN ALSO DONATE FOOD! Share surplus food that you’re not going to use your local Community Fridge Officer will give you details on what can be shared.

If your organization is interested in discussing this innovative opportunity and how you can help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on info@foodblessed.org                                                                                               

ADVOCATE                                                                                                              Spread the word. Become a Community Fridge Ambassador (CFA)!!!

VOLUNTEER                                                                                                     Volunteer your time to support your local Community Fridge by becoming a Community Fridge Officer (CFO). As a community Fridge Officer. Possible tasks include things like scheduling for pick-ups, stocking the Community Fridge, maintaining the fridge and making sure it’s fully operational, and safely managing food donations. Food content labeling, tamper-free packaging, clear best before dates, and strict fridge maintenance are all essential parts of the process.

ARE COMMUNITY FRIDGES THE SOLUTION TO FOOD POVERTY?

We believe that Community Fridges and food waste redistribution, in general, are not a sustainable answer to food poverty. Nor should food poverty be the answer to food waste. However, Community Fridges can help people in need and curb down the amount of food waste generated. 

We’re keen to explore what community fridges can offer in these tough times. Not in terms of handouts - but in terms of strengthened communities. We have found that Community Fridges increase a spirit of sharing and serve as social spaces and sites of food education within a community. Their benefits are manifold and will be different in each area. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR US?

Once installed, we hope to get the community fridges up and going by joining our hands with community members and by partnering with other NGOs, community groups, grassroots organizations, municipalities, educational and religious institutions to provide free advice, resources and support around challenges such a legal requirements and food hygiene, as well as creating opportunities for communities to share experiences and learn from each other. 

We are also planning to launch a user-generated map that you can access to locate the closes community fridge to you!

Moreover, we also hope to expand our fund to other regions in the Middle East and beyond. Big dreams, one step at a time.