Scarborough Fridge sees decline in supermarkets giving donations
Volunteers there say people rely on the fridge every week
Scarborough Fridge say they need help with food donations as they are receiving less from supermarkets.
Volunteers there say people rely on them every week as it gives out free produce so it does not go to waste or landfill.
It is based entirely on donations and it is looking for locally-produced food from gardens and allotments etc.
Ruth Fairchild, Treasurer, said: "We're getting more new people coming along, people we've not seen before, so we have quite a regular turnover of people but a core of them who come evey week. It's getting harder for people I think so they're finding new ways of saving money.
"The food goes within the hour. We pick up from the supermarkets Friday night into Saturday morning and other people with private donations come in as well. We collect on average about 250 kilos a week and it's gone within the hour, apart from the little bit that goes in the freezer for the following week.
"We're very happy that the food isn't going to waste anymore and people are able to buy it later in its life in the supermarkets, but we know we have a core of people who rely on us for food. We have seen a decline in some of the supermarkets giving us donations.
"There's a lot of bread and bakery goods that come through and the decline has mainly been in fruit and vegetables, which if it's not going to waste is fantastic, but it doesn't help the people we're helping.
"It's a real balance. We know it's going to get harder for people but we don't want to see the waste happening. We're happy if people have excess produce from their allotments or gardens and they want to pass it on, we'll take it, but we don't want to see more and more coming from the supermarkets."
Scarborough Fridge is open every Saturday 10am to 11am at Westborough Methodist Church.
You can contact Scarborough Fridge on their Facebook page.