Chepstow Community Fridge

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Chepstow Community Fridge Chepstow's Community Fridge, at the old Rainbow Cafe, giving surplus food from supermarkets to the community.

02/10/2026

A HUGE THANK YOU from everyone at Chepstow Community Fridge 💚

We have been overwhelmed by your kind messages, comments and support this week — thank you so much. It really means the world to our team of volunteers.

We just wanted to share a little of what goes on behind the scenes, thanks to you:

🍎 We support our community — from weekly fruit boxes for local schools to weekly food bags for our vicar-led community group, and same-day pop-ups for food that can't be stored. Use-by food is also delivered to a local hostel with clear instructions to be used that day.

🤝 Thanks to our supply partners— Lidl Bulwark & Lydney, M&S, Tesco, Asda, Co-op and our amazing local growers. Without you we couldn't save so much food from going to waste.

♻️ We waste as little as possible — anything unusable is composted by the council, soft plastics are recycled via Tesco, and hard plastics and cardboard are recycled too. Even our unusable veg goes to a lovely customer for their guinea pigs!

💪 Our volunteers— of all ages and abilities, give their time and energy freely, whether it's late-night collections in their own cars or working a 4-hour shift on their feet to open our doors 3 times a week.

We are so proud of what we do together, and proud to be part of Chepstow.

Thank you for continuing to support us, shop with us, and help us save food from going to waste.

The Chepstow Community Fridge Volunteers

01/10/2026

A message from all of us at Chepstow Community Fridge 💚

We have seen the anonymous post on the community page this morning and we wanted to respond openly and honestly.

First, thank you for the amazing comments of support — it means the world to our volunteers.

We are 100% run by volunteers. No one is paid, no one claims travelling expenses, and we all use our own cars and petrol to collect food, often working into the evening to collect surplus food that supermarkets would otherwise throw away.

Our sole aim is to save food from going to waste and share it with our community.

As written into our constitution, volunteers are invited to take a small amount of food — usually one item— as a thank you. We actively encourage this, because we are all part of the community too and it also prevents that food going to waste. We do not take 'the nice things' and leave the dregs — everyone, including volunteers, gets the same share.

We give up our own time to open our doors 3 times a week, often arriving 2 hours early to sort, date-check, and clean, and staying after to clear away.

We are really sad to read negative comments based on hearsay, especially when posted anonymously. If you ever have a concern, please come and speak to us directly — our door is always open and we are happy to show you how we work.

We will continue to offer a 5-star service with a smile, and we are more than happy to educate anyone on what we do for YOU and for Chepstow.

Why not pop in and see what we do? We'd love to meet you.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Chepstow Community Fridge Volunteers

Pop up now at the fridge now until 5.20pm! Please pop along now! It is your lucky day!
27/09/2026

Pop up now at the fridge now until 5.20pm! Please pop along now! It is your lucky day!

Did you know?
24/09/2026

Did you know?

23/09/2026

HOW CHEPSTOW COMMUNITY FRIDGE WORKS... FOR YOU 💚

Ever wondered what happens before we open the doors? Here's a peek behind the scenes — and it's all thanks to our amazing volunteers.

♻️ WHAT IS IT?
We collect surplus food from local supermarkets that would otherwise go to waste— not because it's bad food, but because it has a short use-by date, damaged packaging or they've simply over-ordered. It's often not top-quality supermarket standard, but it's perfectly good to eat. Last month alone we saved over 800kg!

🚗 HOW DOES IT GET HERE?
Our volunteers use their own cars and petrol, with no expenses, collecting throughout the day AND evening from Tesco, Lidl, M&S, Co-op and Asda! That means early mornings, late nights, and lifting heavy trays in all weathers.

🧤 WHAT HAPPENS ON A SHIFT?
It's not just turning up and opening the door.

-Volunteers often arrive 2+ hours before opening to sort and check everything.
- All stock is sorted for the fridge and freezer according to food safety rules. We have a 5 star rating!
- We check dates and quality.
- Then we serve 60+ customers per shift, with a smile and a chat.
- After closing, it's all cleared away, cleaned and fridges wiped down.

A typical shift is 4 hours on their feet. All voluntary.

💷 WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
The fridge itself costs money to keep running — electricity for fridges/freezers, insurance and cleaning supplies.

If you can spare £1 each visit, it really does keep the lights on and the fridges running.

Thank you for supporting us!

16/09/2026

We are having a pop up of frozen items at 3.30. Come on down 👍

16/09/2026

🌙 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - EVENING COLLECTORS 🌙
Chepstow Community Fridge

We’re looking for a couple of friendly volunteers to join our evening collection rota!

It involves collecting surplus food from our local supermarkets in the evening and bringing it back to the fridge so we can share it with the community and save it from going to waste.

🕖 Evenings - approx 1 hour, once a week/fortnight
🚗 Driver with car helpful
🤝 Full training & support given

If you can help, or know someone who might be interested, please pop into the Community Fridge for an application form and have a chat with one of the team.

Every collection makes a huge difference — Diolch!

04/09/2026

Happy New Term from Chepstow Community Fridge! 🍎

What a lovely start to the term it’s been — it’s been so wonderful to see so many familiar faces back after the summer break, and to welcome some new ones too! Thank you for all your smiles, chats and support.

We are back to our usual opening times and we’d love to see you:

📅 Monday at 5:30pm
📅 Wednesday at 11am
📅 Friday at 11am

Just a gentle reminder:
🛍️ Please bring your own bags
💷 A £1 donation if you are able to — every little helps us keep running
❤️ We are run entirely by volunteers who give up their time freely for our community

Thank you for making the start of term so positive. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

02/09/2026

✏️ Got a new pencil case?? It's back to school time! ✏️

We hope you've all had a lovely summer break! As the school bags are packed and the lunch boxes are dusted off, we’re getting ready to open our doors for a new term ahead here at Chepstow Community Fridge 😊

Just like getting ready for school, we’re here to help make sure no good food goes to waste and that everyone in our community has a little extra to help with the busy weeks ahead.

A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers who give up their time so freely to keep the fridge running, we couldn’t do it without you ❤️

We’re open this week:

Monday evening at 5:30pm
Wednesday at 11am
Friday at 11am

Please remember to:

🛍️ Bring your own bags

💷 Bring a £1 donation if you can please.

😊 Bring your smiles, we can’t wait to see you!

Here’s to a happy, healthy start to the new school year for all of our customers!

28/08/2026

Chepstow Community Fridge does not discuss individual volenteer matters publicly. Volunteers are required to commit to the full duration of shifts they undertake so that the fridge can remain safely and adequately staffed. We will not discuss individual circumstances on social media.

Address

Rainbow Cafe, Moor Street
Chepstow
NP165DF

Opening Hours

Monday 5:30pm - 6:15pm
Wednesday 11am - 12pm
Friday 11am - 12pm

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