Photo Credits: Viviane Faver

By Viviane Faver 

When the coronavirus pandemic began, and people were forced to stop working, many New York residents became unemployed and struggled to fill their refrigerator.

Aware of this,  a group of activists from the Org – In Our Hearts – created the project ‘The Friendly Fridge.’ The idea is simple: a refrigerator set up outside businesses or other heavily trafficked locations, stocked with food free for anyone who needs it.  

The New York Beacon talked to the creators of this project, Selma Raven and Sara Allen. “We were the 5th refrigerator in NYC, and now there are over 32. Each Fridge is autonomous, but many are connected via several Signal chat groups to share resources, transportation, and ideas around getting food donations and rescues,” says Sara Allen. 

 

Sara and Selma explain this is a mutual aid initiative -not charity. “This is everyone helping each other, “she says. The main objective is “literally to share resources to give food to people. To make healthy foods accessible to anyone who needs it “. They both believe that together we are much stronger.

Selma got the idea on May 18th, the same day as the anniversary of her son Michael’s passing, a passionate food justice activist. Selma Raven and Sara Allen were perusing Instagram and stumbled upon a post from a friend in Harlem who had started up a refrigerator in her neighborhood. They were both instantly inspired and decided this was something they could do to help others -especially in this time of uncertainty. 

They went on Craigslist and found a refrigerator for a low price. Upon securing a fridge, they walked a few blocks down from their apartment near the last stop of the 1 train and went door to door asking business owners if they would let them plug the refrigerator. 

After trying three times without any luck – an owner of a restaurant called “The Last Stop” said: “Yes! Let’s do this”. Suspicious of how quickly the business owner had accepted, they called back the next day to confirm. He assured them that he was happy to do it.  

 

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 “When the refrigerator arrived, we plugged it in on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant and filled it with fresh veggies, fruits, and other items.

It’s plugged in on the sidewalk with the help of an extension cord and is accessible by anyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At first, we used financial donations from friends, family, and neighbors to fill up the Fridge ourselves with produce from a local vendor. Over time as awareness of the Fridge and the movement of other community fridges grew, we began to see many food donations from others.”

 So far, these outdoor fridges have been set up in The Bronx, Harlem, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Brownsville, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and now Kingsbridge.

Sara Allen tells the New York Beacon that many were wary and were not sure of what to expect. Nowadays, the neighborhood loves and embraces it. “Many will be proud to tell you about this refrigerator and how it has helped so many. It is truly a community project. On the block, there are barbers, cab drivers, deli owners, and other small business owners that participate in keeping this project going”, said her with a smile on her face.  

However, she reminds us of things we should be aware of: “So much food is wasted, and that waste could feed so many if we could divert it straight to places that are accessible such as these community fridges and pantries. We are always looking for ways to rescue food.” 

 The truth is anyone can donate extra food at any given time -every single item counts. You can consider opening up a refrigerator near you with the help of a team. You can help spread awareness of these community refrigerators by sharing information with your friends, family, neighbors, and community. If you are not comfortable directly donating food or do not live near a fridge and want to donate financially, you can do so by going to the Instagram account @thefriendlyfridgebx of a community fridge and finding the relevant links there.