Lidl East Grinstead

We support local individuals and families in crisis who cannot afford to put food on the table, referred to us by local agencies, (such as Children & Family Centres, local primary and secondary schools, churches, hospitals, Citizens Advice, GP surgeries, in fact over 50 agencies can refer clients to us). Since we started with a few food boxes in a garage in East Grinstead in December 2012, we have now assisted over 9,000 people, averaging over 30 adults & children helped per week. We are located in the Jubilee Community Centre in Charlwoods Road, East Grinstead and open 3 times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 1pm to 3pm. In addition to giving clients food and household items sufficient for at least 3 days in exchange for a red voucher, we also talk to Clients and try to understand their needs and situation, and - where appropriate - look to 'signpost' them to other groups, such as Citizens Advice, CAP, or other support agencies who may also be able to assist.

As a Community Fridge we collect surplus food that could otherwise easily end up in the landfill and make it available for people to take and consume in exchange for a small donation. As a Community Cafe we also provide a full cafe menu available to all. Our Cafe ethos has always been to try to provide the best possible quality at the lowest possible price. In addition to this we also utilised our FSA 5* kitchen to enable us to produce our own made frozen ready meals that we use within the cafe or give out to those that have difficulty cooking for themselves. We also repackage large catering size products into more usable sizes for individuals and families. For anyone in crisis we can provide a hot meal in our cafe as well as a supply of fresh and frozen stock to take home with them. We work in partnership with the East Grinstead Foodbank and take referrals from many local agencies including GP Surgeries, Schools, Early Help Teams and many more.

In October 221 a small team set up Uckfield Community Fridge on land near to the Foodbank and Luxford Field, backed and supported by the town council. The essence behind a community fridge is to fight food waste and support local people. It does this by collecting leftover food from businesses, then making it available to local residents and community groups free of charge. This includes individuals with limited access to affordable fresh and nutritious food. The project is a simple solution to wasting less and saving more. We liaised with local supermarkets regarding food donations and they have informed us of the desperate situation they have found people in, sometimes raiding supermarket bins for free food. Quite rightly they have expressed the health and safety issues with this. The community fridge would enable people access to this food without those unnecessary risks. Strict monitoring guidelines based on advice from the Food Standards Agency and the Council’s Environmental Health team ensure the fridge will operate to the highest quality standards. We are sure you are aware of the food poverty crisis and the particular impact of food poverty on children and their future. Universal credit payments have increased by 201% in our local area over the last year, and this is before the furlough scheme has ended. On a local social media group we have been aware of mothers pleading for help from strangers to pay for their children’s dinner. For people in need there is the foodbank, which offers emergency provision and should not be viewed as a long-term solution. For some there is a stigma tied to using foodbanks and people may be reluctant to make initial contact. Food parcels are nutritionally balanced and consist of tinned and dried foods. Foodbank use has increased year on year so there is clearly an on-going local need. We keep in touch with Uckfield Foodbank to complement each other’s work. However, the main difference is that Community Fridges are set up to be a longer-term feature of a community. They operate on a trust basis, are not means tested and are open to all. Community Fridges offer a source of fresh good quality food surplus for everyone. In many cases the most frequent items moving through the fridge are fruit and veg. Community fridges aim to bring people together to see good food be shared and eaten, instead of going to waste.