What Can I Donate?

A Community Fridge isn’t the same as a foodbank.

We are all about preventing food from going to waste; mainly fresh produce and bakery products. We operate a ‘lucky dip’ system that needs no referral. This also means we cannot guarantee the quantity or variety of food you might be able to pick up. There is no limit to the number of times you can visit a community fridge.

Foodbanks, on the other hand, largely source their food from donations of purchased groceries and are all about providing nutritionally balanced packages of mainly storecupboard foods to last for several days, for households experiencing food insecurity. They usually require a referral from another organisation or professional and there may be a limit on the frequency that a person can access the service.

If you have surplus food at home that you’d like to share with us instead of letting it go to waste, here’s what we can and cannot accept:

Foods We Can Accept

  • Undamaged / uncontaminated, edible food that is within a use-by date
  • Undamaged / uncontaminated, edible food within a reasonably short time of a ‘best before’ expiry
  • Home-grown produce – (please let us know if it has been grown with the application of pesticides)
  • Frozen foods that have remained fully frozen in transit to the fridge – (please use a well-insulated cool bag if your journey will be over 15 minutes)
  • Non-food organic-origin items like cut flowers and potted plants

Foods We Can't Accept

  • Food that is beyond its use by date
  • Food or its packaging that is, or appears to be, damaged or contaminated
  • Beansprouts
  • Paté
  • Home cooked / preserved foods
  • Products containing alcohol
  • Unpasteurised dairy products
  • Sandwiches and other prepared ‘party’ foods left over from events
photo of perfect bananas with a "yes please" sign on them
photo of manky bananas with a "no thankyou" sign on them