Eastbourne Community Fridge

April 2019

St Ronan’s hosts the Eastbourne Community Fridge. We provide the location and the power. The wider community add things and remove things. Others in the wider community keep it clean and tidy (~weekly). But nobody controls the behaviour of the community. It would be tragic if somehow the fridge were to become a COVID-19 infection source. The fridge is now closed till further notice.

Sue Fairclough and Susanna Anderson are looking after the fridge in Finola’s absence, so all’s going smoothly. But at this time of year, home gardens are not producing much (though rhubarb is still around and it’s very popular) so fridge offerings are becoming scarcer.

Meanwhile, not all of us in Eastbourne have money to spare and the cold weather only increases our need for ‘energy food’ while, at the same time, an increasing proportion of our budget must go on heating.

Any supermarket shelf items placed in the fridge are quickly snapped up by those in our community who need them. When at the shops, think of those in our community who have trouble making ends meet – breakfast foods always go down well – Weetbix, porridge etc.                                                                                                                  Sandy Lang

Everything is going smoothly with the day-to-day operations of the Community Fridge. The uptake is still steady, with new donations most days! I was approached by the managers of the Newtown and the Aro Valley community centres earlier in the month, as they are looking to set up community fridges in these Wellington suburbs. They came out to our fridge, and we discussed how it was operating, the steps that went into set-up, as well as general logistics. It will be great to see more of these fridges around the city!

I have recently moved to London for my OE. Two local women – Sue Fairclough and Susanna Anderson have kindly volunteered to look after the fridge in my absence.

Thanks to all who are continuing to support this venture with donations of produce and food.

Since its opening, the Community Fridge has been well-received by the wider Eastbourne community. Donations of fresh produce are steady, with new items in the fridge each time I go to check on it – several times a week. These go pretty quickly (as they should) so you might be forgiven for thinking not much is happening if you pass by the fridge only occasionally. The late summer/early autumn has brought a special glut of feijoas and apples…

Meanwhile, tinned and dried goods are being donated sporadically but are also being taken away quite quickly by community members in need (as they should).

The Eastbourne Library has recently asked if they can drop off excess seedlings from the seed-swap events they hold occasionally and these too are gratefully received.                                                                                                  

I check the fridge every couple of days now. I have yet to make a donation run to Common Unity Aotearoa as the shelf-stable foods are being taken away by local people. The rapid turnover of food indicates not only the strong support of local donors but also a somewhat greater need within the Eastbourne community than we anticipated.

Ideas: If you have food stuffs in your pantry nearing their ‘expiry’ or ‘best-before’ dates, bring these along. A real pity to waste good food. Someone also suggested it would be good to check your emergency kit – maybe there’s food there that it would be useful to move along before it’s too late.

Seasons: In the past month we've had a glut of tomatoes and marrows in the fridge. As summer moves into autumn it will be interesting to see what turns up next.

Last, remember this is an Eastbourne community project – not just a church project. If the Eastbourne Community Fridge is to support the whole Eastbourne community, then it will require the support of the whole Eastbourne community.

Finola Rance