Free surplus food will be available to people in Weston, thanks to a new community fridge.

The fridge, which will be set up in the Sovereign Shopping Centre, will enable surplus food to be shared within the community, prevent food waste from going to landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Weston Town Council’s Climate Change Working Group has been looking at initiatives to reduce food waste.

The project is being set up by WsM Helping People, the For All Healthy Living Centre, The Sovereign Centre, First Step Housing and North Somerset Council who are working with Weston Town Council's Community Resilience team.

A number of food suppliers and retailers, including Fair Share and Co-op, are also supporting the project to prevent surplus stock from being thrown away.

The fridge is one of a growing number opening up across the UK. The average community fridge redistributes around 500 kg of food per month, which equates to about 2.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.

The food on offer is fresh, free and local. It is hoped that recipe exchange and an information hub will be set up alongside the community fridge, which is set to launch towards the end of October.

Volunteers needed to help run the fridge. To apply, log on to http://bttr.im/zin8t