Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We listened carefully to what you told us, and this report summarises the key points people raised and what we are doing.
The WDT Community Fridge Survey ran for 2 weeks from the 26th June 2025 – 11th July 2025. An online survey was advertised via WDT’s website, social media platforms and Westrays community newsletter ‘Auk Talk’. Paper copies of the survey were available from our office and in the three island shops.
We received 47 responses in total, most were online, with 3 paper copies being returned.
Surveys were completed by 44 households, and 3 local businesses gave us their feedback. 120 individuals were represented through the 47 surveys.
Everyone who completed the survey was aware of our community fridge, with 38 households using it, leaving 9 that had completed the survey without accessing it.
Most people found the fridge to be easily accessible, with 45 agreeing and 2 disagreeing.
The majority of households, 24, haven’t donated, 15 households have, and 8 didn’t know that they could. 30 households found the donation process easy, and 4 didn’t. The remaining 13 did not answer the question.
45 households find the fridge to be well organised and easy to use, 2 do not.
In the information below, you will see a simple “You Said – We Answered” format showing questions asked and the actions we have or are taking. We hope this helps clear up some of your questions.
You said: You would like the donation process to be easier and out with WDT opening times.
WDT Response: A requirement of HUBBUB, the Community Fridge Network and the OIC environmental health department requires all donated food to be recorded. This includes the type of food, weight, date and who donated it for safety purposes.
You said: You would like us to split large items into smaller portions.
WDT Response: We do split the fruit and vegetables we get locally. After external clarification we are able to split dry goods so if we receive catering packs we will do this as much as possible.
You said: you would like more fruit and vegetables.
WDT Response: We asked that fruit and vegetables aren’t sent to us from FareShare . With fruit and veg having a shorter shelf life we felt that it may encourage more waste locally, which is not our objective.
You said: You didn’t want such unusual items in large quantities.
WDT Response: We have little control over the store cupboard items received we just get whatever needs to be saved from landfill.
You said: Too many items remain there for weeks.
WDT Response: Lots of items are the same because sometimes we get large quantities of them or we get them sent multiple times. Again this is out with our control we just fill the fridge with the items received which other wise would have been wasted.
If you have any questions or suggestions about the community fridge as always don’t be afraid to get in touch with us and we will do our best to help you!