A Community Fridge is a space that brings people together to eat, connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste. It is a site where local people can share food. This includes surplus from Supermarkets, local food businesses, producers, households and gardens. The main purpose of the Fridge is to save fresh food from going to waste. There are currently over 300 fridges in the UK.

A Community Fridge is not a food bank. People usually refer to food banks as an emergency stop gap solution. For some there is a stigma tied to using food banks and there is a cap on the number of visits that can be made by a household within a time period. Generally non-perishable food items are given out, and at set times only, food bank users are not always at liberty to choose what they eat. In contrast, Community Fridges exist to reduce food waste and foster a spirit of sharing and mutual support within a community. They are often open more regularly and offer a source of fresh good quality food surplus for everyone. In many cases the most frequent items moving through the fridge are fruit and veg. They operate on a trust basis and are not means tested.