Swim for Mid Surrey Community Fridges

Why are we Crowdfunding?

We need a new van! Mid Surrey Community Fridges collects surplus food and makes it available it to those who need it most. Every week our two vans cover hundreds of miles collecting food, delivering it to our Fridges and operating our Mobile Stops in the towns and villages of Mid Surrey. But those vans are getting old and we will need to replace one of them this year. We’re hoping that our swim will raise £10,000 towards the cost of our new van so please support us and help keep MSCF on the road.

We intend to keep fundraising until we have reached our target, and plan to buy the new van by the end of 2022.

What are we doing?

On Saturday 9th July (or a fortnight later if the weather is bad) we will be donning the goose fat and swimming from Hurst Point in Hampshire to Colwell Bay on the Isle of Wight. It’s a distance of 1.3 miles, depending on the tide, of open water swimming. It’s an organised group event so we will have support craft and back-up all the way. We've been told that there are basking sharks in the Solent - but that's not putting us off!

Who are Mid Surrey Community Fridges?

Mid Surrey Community Fridges is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company based in Dorking. Our award-winning team of volunteers works tirelessly to rescue good, surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and make it available to our community. We collect food locally from shops, businesses, farms and restaurants and we also source food from FareShare, a major national food waste charity. Our warehouse in Dorking allows us to smooth out supply and demand on some items and our vans are central to everything that we do. Our Fridges and Mobile Stops have become important pillars in the community, bringing people together on a regular weekly basis. Anyone is welcome at a Fridge and we’re always delighted to welcome new visitors, explain what we do and why and invite them to join us in saving good food from landfill.

Our purpose

We do this because we believe that no food should go to waste and that everyone should have access to fresh healthy food. Food waste is bad for the environment and reducing it represents is one of easiest ways we have to slow climate change. 

The Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that 6.4 million tonnes of edible food is wasted in the UK each year associated with 36 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.*

In 2021 MSCF saved around 340 tonnes of food, and in doing so made around £1.5 million worth of food available. Particularly now, as the cost of living is rising dramatically, we know that we can be a massive help to the people who need that food most, with our visitors able to get a bag of fresh fruit, vegetables, bread and other foods worth about £15-20 each time they come. We aim to make the food as easily accessible as possible, and our Mobile Stops reach rural communities where public transport is limited and expensive for those without a car.

*WRAP: Food Surplus and waste in the UK – Key Facts, Updated 2021

How can you help?

• By making a Donation to this appeal
• By buying one of our unique Rewards
• If you would like to offer a reward to support our campaign, please get in touch

All the money goes to Mid Surrey Community Fridges to use on collecting surplus food and giving it to our community.  

Watch this space!!  …and thank you!!!

FAQS

Q What will happen to the money if you don't meet the target?

A We are grateful for all the donations we receive and we will put all funds we raise through this campaign to our new van.

Q What will happen to the money if you raise more than your target?

A If we raise more than the cost of a new van any extra funds will go to supporting our running costs such as fuel and van maintenance.   

Q Would Mid Surrey Community Fridges use the money for another purpose than buying a van?

A We will ringfence this money to be spent on food distribution. Food transport is a massive part of what we do, getting the surplus food from warehouses to those who need it and we plan to carry on owning and running our own vehicles; if we find that vehicle leasing or using a third party logistics company becomes a better financial option, then we will use the funds we raise to do that.