Inspired by Foodsharing.de in Berlin, Alvaro Saiz decided to step up in reducing food waste in his hometown Galdakao in Spain. With the same concept as the "free little library", the large white fridge now sits prominently on a pavement with wooden fences built around it, storing leftover foods available for anyone who wants it.
The solidarity fridge idea was supported enthusiastically by the town mayer, Ibon Uribe. He approved a budget of around $5,500 for the purchase, maintenance and electricity of the fridge. A study for health safety was also conducted to maintain food safety and legal permits were secured to protect the proponents of the project.
The project started in May which the Guardian first reported in June of this year. This initiative aims to minimize food waste and not to feed people in need according to Saiz. "This isn't a charity. It's about making use of food that would otherwise end up in the bin. It doesn't matter who takes it - Julio Iglesias could stop by and take the food - at the end of the day, it's about recovering the value of food products and fighting against waste", Saiz said.
There are also strict rules that need to be followed by everyone leaving food in the fridge. Raw fish, meat or eggs and packaged or canned goods past their use-by date are not allowed in the fridge. Home-made goods should be labelled showing when it was made. These safety precautions are necessary for health safety. There are also volunteers who make sure there are no products past by their use-by dates and home-made dishes are not more than four days. So far, everything has been taken on a daily basis.
An estimated of 660 pounds of food was saved from the garbage according to Saiz in an interview with the Guardian last June. This number has probably increased since then. A nearby city, Murcia, has also adapted this concept and people from all over the world who are also interested to start something similar have been in contact with Saiz since then.
This is only one of the many efforts countries are doing to fight food waste. France now bans grocery stores from throwing away or destroying unsold food. They have to donate the food for use as animal feed or compost instead. Korea also has a weight-in program where fines are imposed if it exceeds the allotted weight of waste.
