In case you can't tell by the ubiquity of 'small plates' at most new London restaurants, it's fun to share.
When that sharing moves past having a smorgasbord of tasty snacks to munch on at dinner, and into making a genuine difference to a community, it's even more so.
That's why, when London's first community fridge is about to arrive in Brixton, it's cause for celebration. The idea behind the People's Fridge project – pioneered in Spain, Germany and India – is very simple: to tackle the problem of food waste, and therefore to address the wider problem of food poverty through a simple food-sharing initiative.
The fridge sit will sit outside community hub Pop Brixton, whose street-food traders, along with other members of the community, can leave unwanted but fresh, nourishing food in there for people who really need it. It'll be managed by a group of volunteers from Pop's creative space Impact Hub Brixton, who'll make sure the system runs as it should. It'll be the ultimate bridge between philanthropy and sustainability – cutting food waste while also making sure vulnerable members of the community don't just have enough to eat, but are eating well, too.
At a time when people are waking up to the problems our food system faces, and when it's estimated households in Lambeth alone throw away a combined 40 million meals every year, this initiative not only addresses immediate problems, but builds an infrastructure to tackle them for years to come, too. Hopefully it'll be the first of many in the capital. Now that's my kind of sharing economy.
