A community fridge celebrated its fifth anniversary, but organisers warn its needed now more than ever.

The celebrations of the community larder and fridge  at St Michael's Community Centre saw Mayor Sven Hocking, local councillors, as well as representatives from contributors attend.

Speaking to the Journal, Councillor Hocking said: “A lot of families are going through some difficult times, and this is one small thing we can do up here to help out those people dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.”

Mayor Sven Hocking wants to see more community fridges (Image: Charles Elliman)

Asked about similar projects inspired by the five-year-old fridge, the mayor said: “If we can roll this sort of thing out to other parts of the community, then I think we should."

The community fridge once relied on supermarkets for the most of its food, which one local woman dubbed ‘life saving,’ but local organisation F3 now contribute the lion’s share of fresh produce.

F3, or Free Fresh Food, is a community garden located at Chafyn Grove School and its founders, Susan and Mark Brandon said: “October is the end of our year, and we think we’ve done £3,000 worth of food.”

Asked about why they got involved with the community fridge, Susan said: “Because we’re upset to see people queuing-up for food; we felt we ought to do something.”

Mark added: “We were appalled. Apparently, when we inquired, they said ‘oh some people queue from six in the morning.’"

Mark and Susan Brandon were upset to see people queuing (Image: Charles Elliman)

The importance of the community fridge cannot be overstated and it was put into focus by Kez Adey, the CEO of the Disability Interest Group, who said: “[For] people with disabilities, obviously many of them are on a reduced budget, places like the community fridge are really good.”

The CEO added: “Especially for people on benefits, whether they’re disabled, or families, it is a massive lifeline for everybody. 

Chair of the local resident’s association Jenny Bolwell thought celebrating the fifth anniversary was a way to put pride back into a struggling community.

“We’ve had more than our fair share of incidents and, underneath all that, I think people forget that there are groups across Bemerton Heath.”

Jenny Bolwell (second from right) wanted to put some pride back into the community (Image: Charles Elliman)

Jenny, who is also a Labour councillor for Salisbury City Council, was questioned about Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment and its impact on affordability.

The councillor and volunteer support worker, who was not supportive of her party’s decision, said: “We’ve already seen a rise with Trussell Trust, with the food bank (who are forever asking for bits and pieces), because families aren’t coping."

For more information on the community fridge at St Michael’s Community Centre, click here.