People living in Holsworthy will be getting a new community fridge as part of a project that collects surplus edible food and gives it away for free.

Local housing association LiveWest has provided a £1,000 grant to Holsworthy Community Fridge Steering Group to help launch a community fridge, by paying for the electrical connection, which will be based outside Holsworthy Library, and other vital set-up costs. The project has also been supported by Devon County Council’s National Lottery-funded ‘Food Rescue’ project which has provided the fridge, sponsored the signage and provided support and advice.

Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, LiveWest, Geoff Cusick, president of Holsworthy Rotary Club and Holsworthy Library have been working together to launch the fridge working with local food suppliers such as Waitrose and Co-op. Holsworthy Library is giving their ongoing support by supplying the electricity for the fridge.

The community fridge will ensure that good food doesn’t go to waste and has brought different parts of the community together.

Students from Holsworthy Community College built the framework of the community fridge cabin in their design and technology lessons with wood donated by local business Tamar Trading. Dartmoor MAT’s estates team assembled the fridge on site, including painting, roofing and fixing the signage.

Melissa Trudgill, community engagement manager at Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, said: “We are hopeful that all members of the community will use it on a regular basis. This is a green project using food that would otherwise go to waste and is available for everyone. Once the project is well-established it is hoped the service will go mobile to service some of the isolated nearby villages. Food for children was affected during the lockdowns so Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust has been hands-on, delivering food hampers across the Trust locality.”

Alison Knight, community connector at LiveWest, said: “We are really excited about bringing a community fridge to the town of Holsworthy where we believe there is a real need for this type of initiative. The hope is that people will take advantage of the free food and find new ways of using ingredients. People can pick up a few items whilst leaving homegrown food which is surplus, for others.”

LiveWest has 133 properties in Holsworthy and the fridge will be a good access route for families as they travel to the school, shops, college and leisure centre.

A bank of volunteers will visit the fridge twice daily to monitor usage and record the balance between food taken and food delivered by the volunteer drivers who collect from the local food stores.

If you are interested in being involved, contact Alison Skinner at [email protected]