THE work of Frome Community Fridge in preventing food going to waste was highlighted in the Houses of Parliament this week.

On Tuesday (April 16), MP Sarah Dyke (Lib Dem, Somerton & Frome) spoke during a debate on food waste – and praised the work of the scheme.

“I recently visited Frome Community Fridge, the first of its kind in the country, and they told me that since they established in 2016 they’ve been able to fill eight Wembley Stadiums’ worth of surplus food,” she told the debate.

Addressing fellow MP Steven Bonnar (SNP, Coatbridge), she added: “Does he agree with me that these kind of innovative projects are really important to help us reduce food waste?”

Mr Bonnar responded: “She’s absolutely right, its a great analogy.

“Wembley Stadium is massive and to think of that number stacked up – we can all visualise that right now – it is obscene, absolutely obscene.”

He added: “We have heard of so many groups and organisations, like the one that (Sarah Dyke) mentioned, that are doing stellar work in relation to food insecurity across all our constituencies.

“Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill is no different from any other constituency in that regard and I hope that the SNP’s appreciation of all of those groups and organisations is very clear.”

Frome Community Fridge was founded in 2016. Picture: Frome Town Council

After the debate, Ms Dyke said: “Having visited Frome Community Fridge earlier this month, I was delighted to have the opportunity to highlight the brilliant work that Terri Pitts and her team of volunteers are doing in Tuesday’s parliamentary debate on food waste.”

Frome Community Fridge, at the town hall, is open from 9am to 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, between 9am and 6pm on Tuesdays, 11am to 4pm on Saturdays and from noon to 4pm on Sundays.

In 2019, it was visited by BBC Countryfile, with presenter Paul Martin praising its work in the community.

For more information, visit https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/our-community/our-sustainability-work/waste/community-fridge.

Paul Martin at Frome Community Fridge for the BBC programme, Countryfile. Picture: BBC