If your New Year’s resolution is to do a good deed, then you may want to donate your groceries to new community fridges that have been set up at Block 48 Dorset Road that stock unsellable but edible groceries for needy residents in the area.

The fridges were launched Saturday in an event graced by Member of Parliament (MP) Melvin Yong, and are part of a rising national movement to reduce food waste in Singapore by giving unwanted but edible food to those who need it most.

The community fridges concept consists of placing fridges in public areas to allow anyone to have easy access to fresh, nutritious food especially to those who are facing financial hardship and cannot afford to buy such food.

These fridges are either stocked by volunteers, or by members of the public who want to donate perishable and non-perishable groceries.

The fridges in Dorset Road were launched in partnership with the SG Food Rescue group, a collective that goes out to markets and shops to rescue food that would have otherwise been thrown away because it is unsellable due to factors such as dents or looks.

With this rescued food, they distribute it through community fridges and have been supporting such fridges in the Yishun, Tampines and Queenstown districts.

They also pass on this food to soup kitchens and charity organizations who help to feed the needy.

At the Dorset Road fridges launch, some 300 kilograms (661 lbs) of fresh fruits and vegetables were given away to residents in the area, according to a post by MP Melvin Yong on Saturday.

“I hope that our residents will take good care of the refrigerators so that this initiative can remain sustainable for a long, long time,” said Yong on his Facebook post.

The movement to reduce food waste in Singapore has taken root in recent times, with groups such as SG Food Rescue and Freegan in Singapore sprouting on Facebook to help redistribute food waste to members who need it most.

Apps such as Freegood and Olio are also providing spaces for people to distribute non-food and food items respectively that they do not need, to people who are looking for these items.

The concept has also taken root in Asia, with cities such as Bangkok and Ampang setting up such fridges as well.

This article, Free food in Singapore: Community fridges launch in Dorset Road with free groceries for needy residents, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. For more Coconuts stories, you can download our app, sign up for our newsletters, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.