A COMMUNITY fridge scheme is appealing for people to volunteer to help keep the service running.

The Halstead Community Fridge has been a useful feature in the town since it was created in August 2018.

Located on the Causeway at the Lodge Gate Building, it offers residents the chance to donate or collect food which would otherwise go to waste.

The fridge was particularly useful during the peak of the pandemic with a number of people relying on its services to get food during lockdown.

But now the fridge is appealing for volunteers who are needed to help maintain the fridge, collect donations of food from nearby supermarkets and keep the fridge clean.

The fridge has grown since its start three years ago and now receives food donations from top supermarkets across north Essex.

A spokesman for the fridge, which is run by the Halstead Community Fridge Trust, said: “Halstead Community Fridge was set up to prevent wastage of wholesome food in August 2018.

“Since its modest beginnings, a huge amount of food has been saved for consumption by the people of Halstead.

“During the pandemic when work was hard to come by, many people came to rely on the supply of food it offered.

“It is run by a number of volunteers, who collect food on a daily basis, keep the fridge area clean, and compost anything which becomes inedible.

“The fridge is now taking donations from a very large number of supermarkets, not only in Halstead, but also in Colchester, Sudbury and Braintree.

“In order to manage all the collections, the fridge is now asking for more volunteers to come forward.

“Many of the current volunteers work and have limited time. If you would like to support these very worthwhile enterprise, please contact townclerk@halsteadtowncouncil.org.uk.”