Tag Archive for: Community Fridge

Wimbledon Businesses Helping the Community

We like to shout about the great work Wimbledon businesses do in the community. This Christmas period was no exception, with businesses coming together to support local people, charities and each other.

 

Community Support

The Alexandra Pub opened its doors once again to around 200 people, who were on their own Christmas Day for a free dinner, drinks and good company.

Morrisons Supermarket donated raffled prizes to St Mary’s Primary School and to the local British Heart Foundation.

The Entertainer held their annual ‘The Big Toy Appeal’, where customers picked a toy to donate to The Salvation Army.

You may have seen The Dons Local Action Group outside supermarkets in Wimbledon. With your support, they helped thousands of households in South West London put food on the table.

Wimbledon Station received over 207 boxes for their Shoebox Appeal to help those who are vulnerable or facing homelessness during Christmas.

Businesses Coming Together

Wimbledon Offices and businesses within Tuition House (including Love Wimbledon!) came together to donate packaged goods to Merton’s Community Fridge for the Big Kitchen Cupboard Clear-out, reducing waste and supporting the community this winter. This initiative has been extended until 1st February 2023.

Wimbledon Guild raised over £19,000 for their Christmas appeal to support older people and families in Merton. This includes the £772 they raised as our guests at Love Wimbledon’s Winterfest 2022.

A big thank you to Uniqlo who kindly provided free heat tech clothing for our Christmas Market stallholders to stay warm during the cold snap.

Uniqlo and Love Wimbledon market stallholders

 

We love good news stories. If your business has something to share please email us at info@lovewimbledon.org.

 

Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge

Sustainable Merton, Merton’s leading environmental charity, is bringing the first Community Fridge to the borough.

This meaningful project offers an exciting opportunity to stop edible surplus food from going to waste, and instead make this available to those who are struggling to afford to eat. The Community Fridge is essentially just a big fridge, located in an accessible, friendly space, where individuals and businesses can donate fresh edible food and members of the community can take what they want or need.

Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge project has been selected to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019, the U.K.’s largest match funding campaign running from 3rd – 10th December 2019.

This means that the first £2000 in donations made via theBigGive.org.uk to the Community Fridge project during this week, will be matched and thus have twice the impact.

The aim is to raise a minimum of £10,000, which will contribute to the set up, running, maintenance and management of Merton’s first Community Fridge.

The need for food assistance in Merton is rising. Between 2015 – 2017, the number of residents accessing local food banks increased by 33%. At the same time, huge amounts of good food is going to waste, filling up overflowing landfill sites and producing greenhouse gases. Many local businesses and residents would be willing to donate fresh food if they had the opportunity, and a Community Fridge in Merton will provide this essential link that does not exist in the borough at present.

Sustainable Merton’s Community Fridge will be a valuable contribution to the community, contributing to reductions in both greenhouse gas emissions and food poverty. With the support from individuals and businesses, we can make a real difference to the lives of local people and protect our environment by keeping good food out of the bin and into the hands of those who need it most.

To find out more about the Community Fridge initiative, visit the following link.