The Hawkhurst Community Fridge was opened in June 2020 and makes an amazing contribution to the wellbeing of the village.
The motto of the Fridge can be summed up as “A simple solution to wasting less through the sharing of good quality food to benefit the people of Hawkhurst”.
All the food is freely available to anyone in the community. This is a sharing project with the objectives of reducing food waste and CO₂ emissions while including residents and stores to take part in sharing and caring for one another.
The Fridge is run by a team of volunteers who are Food Safety Level 2 trained and ensure that food is fit for human consumption. Each day the volunteers open the Fridge and weigh in and out the food that would otherwise go to waste.Our team of volunteers picks up every day from major supermarkets, shops and restaurants so that they reduce their waste and the food can be used.
Our original location closed in December 2024 and the new one on the side of the Hawkhurst Library opened on the 5th January 2026.
WE CAN ACCEPT (EXAMPLES)
✓ Sealed packaged foods
✓ Cheeses
✓ Fresh fruit
✓ Fresh vegetables
✓ Table sauces
✓ Pastry
✓ Unopened pasteurised milk and yogurt
✓ Unopened fruit juices
✓ Salads
✓ Fresh eggs (traceable Lion stamped eggs with clean shells and a use-by date)
WE CAN’T ACCEPT (EXTENSIVE)
× Cooked food from your home or unregistered sources
× Unpasteurised milk
× Cooked rice
× Raw milk cheeses
× Pâtés
× Bean sprouts
× Products which could contain any of the above ingredients
× Unlabelled multiple ingredient items
If you would like to join our fantastic team of volunteers making a real difference to the village, please contact Stephanie at hcf@friendsofhawkhurst.org.uk
