Albrighton Community Fridge, Dog Kennel Hill

[Sue]

Does anybody have up to date details of opening times for this please, or a link giving recent details?

I have some packets of  food  I'd like to donate, but I don't want to take it up there and find it closed.

I have googled,  but have found different information in different places online.

Alternatively, is there another food bank in SE22?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 

10am to, I think,  3pm.

[Sue]

Thanks!

[Jenijenjen]

Saibsburys DKH has a food collection point located at the front of the store behind the tills

[Sue]

4 hours ago, Jenijenjen said:

Saibsburys DKH has a food collection point located at the front of the store behind the tills

Thanks, no offence to Sainsbury's , but I'd rather it went straight to a food bank.

[ctovey]

The Community Fridge is also open on Weds to receive food donations, but not for people to pick up food.

[AylwardS]

The customer donation boxes at Sainsburys go to the Albrighton. They have a long-standing arrangement and still were when I checked with the Albrighton at the end of last year. Even if this stops they’ll be going somewhere to go o someone in need if you put one extra thing in your trolley. 
 

Donations can be dropped at reception at the Albrighton when they are open. Before noon Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday should mean they are available to users when it opens at one. 

[Froglander]

I was told that the two local M&S stores donate their bakery items (such as the bread) to the Albrighton.  This is instead of yellow stickering them at the end of the day.

[Castleton]

4 hours ago, Froglander said:

I was told that the two local M&S stores donate their bakery items (such as the bread) to the Albrighton.  This is instead of yellow stickering them at the end of the day.

I really hope this is true, but it wasn't the case when I worked late shifts at the station branch

[ctovey]

The last time I dropped some donations in, they had a fridge full of food from Harrods!

[Jacqui5254]

8 hours ago, ctovey said:

The last time I dropped some donations in, they had a fridge full of food from Harrods!

 

 Good!   It must be miserable to try to manage on 2 day old donated bread!

[Pugwash]

What is wrong with 2 day old bread!  If kept in the right environment bread will keep fresh for several days.

[Froglander]

I guess the bread they have that day is going to have the previous days date on it as the store wouldn’t be able to sell it the day after, The Lordship Lane M&S used to yellow sticker their freshly baked bread at the end of the day.

[Jacqui5254]

5 hours ago, Pugwash said:

What is wrong with 2 day old bread!  If kept in the right environment bread will keep fresh for several days.

 A lot of people who use food banks and other such facilities often don't have appropriate storage facilities such as freezers, kitchens, etc.    

[Sue]

On 05/02/2024 at 13:37, ctovey said:

The Community Fridge is also open on Weds to receive food donations, but not for people to pick up food.

I just googled. In case anybody else needs to know, it is open from 10-4 on Wednesdays (as ctovey says, for donations only).

Edited February 14 by Sue

[Albrighton]

Hello - sorry to wade into this so late.

If anyone is looking to drop off donations to the Community Fridge that runs from Albrighton Community Centre, please feel free to do so any day (seven days a week).  The centre open at 9.00am each day and reception is open until at least 5.30 each day.  We are very grateful for any donations between these times.  As I'm sure everyone can appreciate with food, energy, accommodation, and pretty much everything else costing more and more, the numbers of people that are struggling to support themselves is growing all the time, so we are grateful from whatever people are able to donate.

As has been discussed in this thread, we do receive donations from Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer who donate unused food they have left over at the end of each day, and they also have customer donation boxes to allow customers to drop of extra items for us.  Locally Co-op, Lidl and Getir also support us, and slightly further afield, Brindisa, and Harrods also provide us with their unsold food.

As some of you may be aware, unlike most food banks,  Community Fridges provide a lot of short life food.  Bread and cakes, as has been spoken about, but also dairy, meat, poultry and fish, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.  We can accept donations of all these foods, on condition that they are within their 'sell by' date, where applicable.  Food with an expired 'sell by' date cannot legally be sold, or in our case, given away, because potentially it could be harmful.  Best before dates are purely advisory however, so very often food past its best before date is perfectly edible and therefore assuming the food is in reasonable condition can be eaten safely.

We are also adding a new string to our bow in the coming week. From 30th April, we will also be rehoming unwanted small electrical goods.  They must be clean and in working condition.  We will check them over and PAT test them, before rehoming them with people using the Community Fridge, so please dig through your cupboards and have a look what you can find.

One final note, we are desperately short of volunteers at the Community Fridge, so please get in touch if you maybe have a little time to help out.

Thank you

Steve

[email protected]

w: albrightoncommunityfridge.org

i: albrighton_community_fridge_

t: albrightonse22

[gabys1st]

On 05/02/2024 at 20:27, AylwardS said:

The customer donation boxes at Sainsburys go to the Albrighton. They have a long-standing arrangement and still were when I checked with the Albrighton at the end of last year. Even if this stops they’ll be going somewhere to go o someone in need if you put one extra thing in your trolley. 
 

Donations can be dropped at reception at the Albrighton when they are open. Before noon Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday should mean they are available to users when it opens at one. 

and Daisburys will make even more money on the tin that you buy you buy to put in Trolley.

 

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Thank you for your work, Steve!

[Dulwich dweller]

On 05/02/2024 at 08:57, Sue said:

Thanks, no offence to Sainsbury's , but I'd rather it went straight to a food bank.

It is handy because many customers buy an extra perishable or two and then drop it straight into the collection area in the store.

Edited April 23 by Dulwich dweller
Spelling mistake

[Albrighton]

Shifting focus slightly away from Sainsburys, for anyone who may do their shopping elsewhere we also have customer donation boxes at Lidl in Peckham and the M&S by East Dulwich Station.  If anyone knows of any other store locations that might be amenable to customer collection box (who don't already have one), please let us know, or if anyone might be up for organising a collection at work, at school, at your place of worship, or any one of a long list of other places in support of Albrighton Community Fridge, and you need some support in organising it, please get in touch.  It is a daily struggle to maintain a large enough food supply at the moment, so we are incredibly grateful for all support.

[AylwardS]

If anyone has a Nectar card and shops at Dog Kennel Hill it will learn what you buy. I regularly get Nectar prices/offers on things I buy to donate to the Albrighton. The donation I plan to take round next week contains toothpaste that was on offer at a Nectar price. Tins of tomatoes, pasta and cereal have also come up in the past. 

 

Put the item in your trolley and drop it in the donation box on the way out. Multi use offer buy some every day, take it home then donate a few. 

[AylwardS]

The Albrighton Centre is our polling station. I’ll be taking a donation in when I vote. 

 

Do you have a tin or unopened bag of pasta in your cupboard you could donate when you go to vote? That and what others donate could make a meal for a family. 

[Albrighton]

Thank you to everyone who do drop off food while they were casting their votes, thanks also to those who enquired about volunteering.

It doesn't have to be an election day though to do either though, so we would be grateful to receive donations and additional volunteer help any other day of the year too.

We have also just added another string to our bow, and are now re-homing unwanted electricals too, so if you have any unwanted small electricals lurking at home that we can re-home, please drop them off to use to.

We only ask that they are clean and working.  we will PAT test them and assuming all good, we will find a new home for them.

The Community Fridge website has details, along with a wealth of other information

Best wishes

Steve

Albrighton Community Fridge

w: albrightoncommunityfridge.org

i: albrighton_community_fridge_   

[AylwardS]

Soup anyone?

Is it just me or did it go from not needing a coat to needing a coat in days?

I’m going to put a tin of soup or a box of cup a soup (Sainsburys get better reviews than a well known brand) in my shop each time and at the end of the month donate them all to the Albrighton. 

Alternatively, and I know views differ on this, you could put it into a customer collection box at the supermarket.

Anyone got a soup maker or slow cooker sitting in a cupboard bought with good intentions but not used or bought for a child going to university? From the post above if it’s clean and working the Albrighton could PAT test it and find a new home for it. You’d get space back and be giving the person receiving it future hot meals. 

Whichever way it will reach someone that needs it.