A new “community fridge” for the West End has now opened its doors to anyone who needs it.
The community fridge, created by Gate Church International, was created thanks to a £180,000 grant which will also keep it going for its first two years of operation.
Inside the fridge, located at the Miller’s Wynd car park, locals who cannot afford food can pick up fruit and veg, bread and other surplus food donated by others in the area.
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In a statement, Gate Church International said: “Almost two years ago we applied for funding to do something that was quite different, but a proven way to help tackle the huge amounts of surplus food.
“It was hopefully something that would bring our local community together and they would be proud of – a community fridge.
“We got the funding, and a year and a half ago we approached the council to see if we could use this overgrown, wasted space across the road from our community buildings.
“It has taken much longer than anticipated (as these things inevitably do) but we’ve learned a whole lot along the way and wouldn’t change a thing.”
The fridge is open every day from 11am-2pm – but will move to full opening hours of 8am-8pm around the time of its official launch on August 4.
The project had suffered some setbacks after some local businesses expressed concerns about antisocial behaviour in the immediate area – but these were smoothed out following a period of consultation.