Surplus food from shops to be delivered free to vulnerable people by electric bikes in Milton Keynes

Since the start of lockdown, organisers of the community fridge schemes have been delivering food packs to families and individuals who are struggling to access food due to low incomes or travel restrictions.

Now the team has been awarded a fleet of e-bikes and an electric van thanks to funding from CAF Venturesome, the National Lottery Community Fund and Milton Keynes Council.

The bike delivery scheme is called Food Connect and has been launched as a pilot project by environmental charity Hubbub. If successful, Hubbub hopes to roll it out to other parts of country.

Research shows nearly one in five people in the UK are concerned during lockdown about access to free food, such as that from food banks and community fridges.

Milton Keynes opened one of the first community fridges in the UK, in Wolverton, in 2017. since then further fridges have opened in Coffee Hall, Netherfield, Great Linford and West Bletchley.

The community fridges are open to everyone and have become hubs for sharing food education, skills, knowledge and goods. But they have had to adapt to the challenges of Covid-19 and social distancing, and many have now temporarily switched to new operations - including delivering surplus food to the doors of the most vulnerable households.

Kanahaya Alam, Community Fridge Network Manager at Hubbub said: “We know from our recent State of the Nation’s Plate report that a significant number of people are concerned about accessing free food during lockdown. Yet millions of pounds worth of food is wasted every year in the UK. Community fridges already play an important part in tackling this, and our ambition is that Food Connect will help retailers distribute surplus food straight to those who need it, whilst supporting the need for cleaner air.”

The electric bikes and van will allow them to do this in a more environmentally-friendly way.

Cllr Jenny Marklew, Cabinet Member for sustainability at Milton Keynes Council said, “We are committed to new and innovative ways to contribute towards our ambition of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. E-cargo bikes are such a fantastic way to help us achieve this, meaning the council staff, social enterprises and local businesses are all able to play a part in reducing our impact on the environment."

Helen Innes, project coordinator for Food Connect said: “We’re pleased to be part of this effort during the pandemic to reach some of our most vulnerable residents in Milton Keynes. Even before Covid-19, getting surplus food that final mile to the community fridge was a challenge, so this fleet will have a huge impact through lockdown and beyond as we begin to reopen to the wider community.”

Any local businesses and organisations interested in donating surplus food or supporting the project can contact Food Connect here .