Meet Victoria Page (commonly known as Tause), entrepreneur, mother of two and the brains behind the recently launched Haslemere Community Fridge. Tause’s enthusiasm is palpable as she talks This is Hasemere through how her dream evolved from a 'back of an envelope' idea to the reality of a dedicated area where ANYONE can come and help themselves to good, cost-free food with the sole purpose of preventing it being sent to landfill. Here’s how she did it.

With a background in sustainability, Tause had a head start in understanding why Haslemere needs a Community Fridge. It is the latest addition to her successful charity, Love Haslemere Hate Waste, which encourages and facilitates locals to recycle, re-use, re-create, re-pair or re-wear anything from Grandpa’s old lawnmower to Mum’s old shoes. But back to the Fridge. 

In the UK, a THIRD, yes that’s 33% of all food, be it fruit ‘n’ veg, readymade meals, meat and fish, even fizzy drinks, are sent off to landfill. But contrary to popular belief, in the vast number of cases, this isn’t because it has 'gone off' or is past its sell-by-date. A third of perfectly good food and drink never makes it to our kitchens for simple reasons such as supermarkets can’t store it or they’ve over-ordered. The humble carrot won’t make the grade if it’s anything other than straight and perfect. Likewise a bulbous tomato or wonky potato. Even ready-made meals with mis-shaped or incorrect labels are all destined for landfill. 

So how does all this unwanted food get from food factory to fridge? After two years of planning, Tause partnered with Fareshare, a food distribution network which delivers rejected food and drink from supermarkets to community fridges around the UK. Every Thursday between 60-80 kgs of ready-to-consume edibles are delivered to the Haslemere Community Fridge which has been generously hosted by Green & Blue Studios in Weydown Road. Volunteers are ready and waiting to stack the food in shelves and fridges and then hand it over to grateful recipients.  While the Community Fridge has strong links with our popular Food Bank, Tause is at pains to stress this food is available to ANYONE, her sole aim being to provide it with a good home and prevent it from going landfill. No money changes hands, though if you want to make a donation you can (the Fridge has to raise funds to pay Fareshare’s delivery costs).

The Fridge will also accept food and drink donations from local households in all shapes and sizes as long as they meet certain criteria. The main ones to avoid are cooked food from your home, anything already opened, unpasteurised milk, cheese and pâtés. Tause’s motto is: if you’d give it to a loved one, you can donate it! Her next mission is to persuade our local pubs and restaurants to donate their surplus food.

But in the meantime, Tause desperately needs volunteers on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to help her stack shelves and hand out food. Even just an hour of your time would be so much appreciated and you’ll be working with a great team of like-minded people all doing their bit to ensure our food ends up on our plates rather than clogging up landfill.

To volunteer or donate to the Haslemere Community Fridge, please contact Tause at hello@lovehaslemerehatewaste.co or visit www.lovehaslemerehatewaste.org to find out more.

The Haslemere Community Fridge is located at Green and Blue Studios at Unicorn Trading Estate, Weydown Road GU27 1FG. No parking is available on site so please park either in Weydown Road or in the Weydown Car Park. 

Open from 4-6pm on Thursdays, from 8-3pm on Fridays, and if any food’s still left, from 9.30-midday on Saturdays.