We have been weighing the food that goes into the fridge every week.  Here is the result after 6 months, with an average of 105kg/week:

We got more food over the summer because there were fewer students around, and Tesco does the same order regardless of student numbers.  The low points coincide with a key volunteer going on holidays.

This is the MINIMUM amount of food, as food that is delivered to rough sleepers on the way between Tesco and the fridge (probably 5-10kg/wk of fruit, pastries, salads etc.) does not get counted, nor does food brought to the fridge sporadically by individuals (e.g. eggs from the chicken farm that takes our surplus bread).  Compost no longer gets counted as the reverend who takes the compost out does not weigh it… but it anyway never accounted for much and still doesn’t.

In recent weeks there has been quite a lot of antisocial activity at the church: eggs and rice were thrown around the church, needles and human shit were left in the Garden of Remembrance, the church toilet was left in a mess, mugs from the kitchen ended up in the compost bin, people were trying to open doors in the admin area of the church.  People were worried about some of the people coming to the church (and the fridge).  There was talk of closing the church entirely for several weeks to try to stop people from viewing the church as an alternative public toilet.

Instead, the church committee has kindly decided to keep the church open and the fridge going, and instead to lock the toilet and kitchen (and, in doing so, the admin area).  Also the church hours will be restricted from 9-5 to 10-4.  This will allow the administrator to come in at 9:30 to an empty church, ditto the organist at 5pm.

Thank you very much to the Abingdon food bank, who have given us lots of tins of baked beans, tomatoes and pulses; and lots of pasta, rice and cereal.  That will keep the shelving of the Botley community fridge full for several months.  Also check out our lovely new shelving and pest-proof storage!

Today I met someone at the community fridge who said that the fridge is keeping him alive.  That is humbling, also what an indictment…

Hubbub kindly gave us some handsome bathroom scales with which we have been weighing the food going into the fridge and the food that we are composting (the difference between the two is what is being taken from the fridge).

From Monday morning until this (Thursday) afternoon, 89kg has gone into the fridge and 4kg (two weeks’ worth) has gone for composting.  I had thought that 25-50kg of food was being cycled through the fridge each week, but it looks like it is 100+kg.  Very exciting.

Today the fridge is rammed full with beans, tomatoes, potatoes, kiwi fruit, apples etc. etc. from the Magdalen Street Tesco and St. Aldates Sainsbury’s.  No photo, but imagine food being shoved into the fridge like commuters onto the Tokyo subway…

We celebrated the Botley community fridge’s first birthday today with cakes (including a magnificent rainbow cake), candles and balloons.  It was the first time that some of the volunteers met each other.  Three of the fridge users were there too.  Here’s to many more!

Rowse/Valeo have just kindly donated £100 to Food for Charities, for use for the community fridge.  Rowse is the purveyor of the excellent honey products that Food for Charities has been delivering, and Valeo makes those delicious chocolate sweets…

We are hoping to set up another community fridge, this one in Jericho at Aristotle House.  If that goes ahead, then the £100 will go most of the way towards buying the fridge.  If it doesn’t, then the £100 will pay for a year’s electricity for the Botley community fridge, plus non-perishables, once the ones that we currently have are used up.