Community groups dedicated to tackling food waste and running a repair café have been recognised at an annual awards ceremony.
The Malton Free Fridge project has won the collaborative spirit category in North Yorkshire’s Community Awards, which recognises groups which have built strong relationships to make a lasting impact.
Thirty-one unpaid volunteers collect food six days a week that would otherwise be wasted from local businesses, supermarkets, gardens and allotments, and distribute it to any taker.
They collaborate with the Wesley Centre, which provides support and a venue for the sorting and distributing of food supplies.
The chair and founder of Malton Free Fridge, Lindsay Wrightson, said: “We are a waste food project, collecting food from the town that would be thrown away otherwise.
“We have saved 170 tonnes of food waste since we opened seven years ago, and we have fed 117,000 people.
“We are very much part of the town now. We hope to continue, welcome everybody at the Wesley Centre and we are thrilled to have been recognised for what we are doing.”
A total of 95 nominations for 70 different groups and individuals were made across three categories in this year’s Community Awards.
The winner of the community impact category, which recognises grass roots community groups who have made a positive difference in their community, was Share Skipton.
They run a library of things where people can lend useful items such as leaf blowers, sewing machines, hoovers and power tools at a low cost. They also run a repair café where people can get broken or damaged items fixed by expert volunteers for free.
The aim is to encourage the local community to come together to share, recycle and reuse, learn new skills, and reduce consumption and waste.
The chair and founder of Share Skipton, Angela Monaghan, said: “We are here to create a more sharing and sustainable Skipton.&
“Pretty much everything we lend has been donated. We have more than 600 items, and since we started in July last year we have made more than 1,700 loans and we have more than 500 members.
“We started running repair cafés in June. We have an incredible range of repairs including electrical, mechanical, clothing, textiles, bikes and spectacles. It is another way in which we can help people from Skipton to reduce waste, reuse and recycle.
“Since we started, the people of Skipton and the surrounding areas have taken us to their heart, and we want to grow what we are doing.
“We want to make Skipton a more sharing and sustainable place with one borrow and one repair at a time.”
Chair, Cllr George Jabbour, said: “We have some fantastic organisations and volunteers making a difference in their communities, helping to deliver critical services and providing social networks to reduce isolation and help people live independently for longer.
“The Community Awards are an important way to recognise their efforts, and once again we have received nominations of the highest standard. I’d like to congratulate the winners and every individual who was put forward.”
Kashmir Kaur was named the winner of the individual volunteers’ category, recognising those who have demonstrated dedication and service to their community for 10 or more years.
She has been a Youth Justice Service volunteer for 14 years and has acted as an appropriate adult at police stations on 110 occasions, supporting vulnerable young people during some of their most difficult moments.
She has served as a community panel member for referral orders more than 200 times, helping to facilitate restorative justice and guide young people towards positive change.
The ceremony was held at the Wider Partnership Conference at the Pavilions of Harrogate today (Friday, 21 November).
The winners received £1,000 for the project, group or nominated relevant local charity in the case of the volunteer awards. Two runners-up in each category received £250.