Charnwood Community Fridge

Welcome to our Community Fridge website.....

What is a Community Fridge, and what do we do ?

A community fridge is a space that’s dedicated to recycling surplus fresh food and stopping it from going to waste. 

Unlike conventional food banks, our fridge is open to all, and anyone can contribute to, or use food from the fridge. Our sources include food from supermarkets, local food businesses, producers, households and gardens. 

Community fridges are normally run by community groups and are located in shared spaces such as schools, community centres and shops. There are now nearly 500 fridges across the UK and the total is increasing almost daily.

The Charnwood Fridge is part of the Community Fridge Network; this is coordinated by Hubbub which brings together all UK based groups running a community fridge.

The emphasis of our work at Charnwood CF is on collecting food from local supermarkets and other businesses, and preventing waste by making it available to anyone in the Loughborough area that can use it -  a big 'thank you' to all our local providers. Head over to our Donors page to see a list of our current suppliers.

We depend on the efforts of our local volunteers to make all this happen, and we would encourage anyone of like mind who would like to contribute some of their time to consider joining our volunteer panel. You can contact us via our Contact page, or by phoning the Shelthorpe Family Hub on 0116 305 5247.

How to find us

The Community Fridge is located within the Shelthorpe Family Hub at:

Woodthorpe Road, Shelthorpe, Loughborough  LE11 2NF

We’re co-located on the Woodthorpe Road site with Beacon College – if approaching from A6 and Shelthorpe Road, take the left turn onto Woodthorpe Road, then left again at the entrance signposted ‘Community Centre’ and bear left after passing through the gates. (During school term time you may need to request entry via the school intercom system). The Family Help Service building entrance is located about 30 yards down on your right. Our reception is through the automatic doors and to your left. 

If you have a Satnav system, the postcode should pinpoint us for you.

See the map below for more info. on how to get to us - Google maps will provide detailed directions if you need them.

When are we open ?

Our current normal opening times (excluding UK Bank Holidays) are:

Monday – Friday 1030-1130.

Opening times can, however, vary depending on circumstances and volunteer availability, particularly during school holiday periods. Please check our ‘News’ Page for any changes, and for our opening times over the Christmas and Easter holiday periods. (See our handy calendar app on the News page for a list of this year's remaining UK Bank Holidays and other notable events).

You can also check for any up to the minute news about product availability, etc.

For more details on how to contact us, see our 'Contact' Page.