Lidl Ringwood Christchurch Rd

We run a Community Fridge from Townsend Community Centre. Running alongside the Fridge project we offer coffee mornings, craft club, free clothes, weekly cooking workshops which all take place at Townsend Community Centre. The Community Fridge abides by the same environmental health standards for food safety as other food businesses. Combined with storage for ambient food, it is stocked with surplus food from supermarkets, local shops and other food businesses as well as donations from local people. Everyone is welcome to take food, the focus being on sharing good food and ensuring it is eaten. Caroline Green, Community Liaison Officer for Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council said “A successful Community Fridge deals with so many different issues at the same time. Community Fridges are a fantastic way to deal with surplus food which has a huge impact on the environment, they can help people in food poverty to access free food and they are a chance to bring the community together over a shared resource. We are really excited to have launched the first Community Fridge in Bournemouth at Townsend Community Centre. The project is open Monday - Friday from 9-11.30am inside the Centre. Outside we have an external fridge which can be accessed 24/7. Anne Melly, Chair of the Townsend Community Growers said "The Growers are really supportive of the Fridge project. The Growers regularly grow fresh fruit and vegetables which are then shared via the Fridge.” The Fridge project regularly works with the charity, The Friendly Food Club. Cooking workshops and demos are held using food from the Fridge #wastenotwabtnot. To find out more about the Townsend Community Fridge contact caroline.green@bcpcouncil.gov.uk or 01202 301556.

The relief of food hardship and poverty for individuals and families living in and around ringwood through the collection of ambient food products donated by individuals, schools, churches and other groups. the food is sorted, stored and then distributed to those in need through a voucher system. a voucher is issued by a front-line professional who is able to assess that there is a genuine need.

Ringwood Race Against Time (RACE) formed in 2019, with the aim of bringing people from the Ringwood area together to take actions that help the environment, biodiversity and climate change. We provide opportunities for people to take actions locally to reduce waste, learn new skills and combat climate change. So far we have Encouraged the planting of over 50,000 trees since 2020 (Trees for the Future) Saved over 100 tonnes of food from waste since May 2021 (Ringwood Community Fridge) Saved over 50 duvet covers, 45 sheets and 30 pairs of curtains from waste through our sewing workshops (Make, Do and Mend) Planted 1000s of bulbs and 100s of pollinator friendly plants through (RACE to Green) Started a series of meals together to provide inspiration about vegetables (Pick to Plates) Had a series of opportunities for people to connect with the environment through art Run 4 Ringwood ECO Fairs Run 6 clothes swaps Run 3 spring seed and seedling swaps