RYEDALE’S first community fridge will be officially opened this weekend.

Located inside the Wesley Centre in Saville Street, Malton, the Ryedale Free Fridge will be stocked with waste food donated by local business and is available for local people to help themselves.

Rev Tanya Short will officially open the fridge, at noon on Sunday when soup, made from left over vegetables, along with bread donated from a local bakery, will be handed out.

Lindsay Wrightson, from Ryedale Free Food, said: “When we talk about waste food, we mean the food that businesses are not longer able to sell, but is still perfectly safe to eat.

“This food would normally go into landfill, but we now have the opportunity to redistribute the food freely to people who need it.

“If people are able to, they can donate on a ‘pay as you feel basis’ and any money raised will help with our ongoing costs of run the fridge.

“We are delighted that most of the food businesses in Malton have pledged donations to the fridge and we would like to express our sincere gratitude to them.”

The businesses are Bite, Leoni’s, Costa Coffee, The Cross Keys, Yo Bakehouse, Florios, Malton Relish, The Mount Hotel, The Talbot Hotel, The Purple Carrot, Harrison’s Bar & Grill, The Hidden Monkey, The Patisserie, Chapter One, The Royal Oak, Dale The Chef’s Choice, Malton Cookery School and Yorkshire Baker.

The fridge will be open to the public from Monday, December 10, from 10am and 4pm. It will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

To find out more, donate or volunteer, phone 07931 202779, email ryedalefreefridge@gmail.com or Facebook at Ryedale Free Fridge.