Growth of community fridges during pandemic shows the power of neighbourhoods, volunteers say
CBC
Small, often brightly painted buildings have popped up in cities across Canada during the pandemic.
They may resemble sheds from the outside, but instead of rakes and shovels, community fridges contain tools of a different sort — fresh food that helps build up and support neighbourhoods.
Four fridges began operating in Hamilton this year alone and are emptied out nearly every day.
"It's just a matter of knowing there's a need in our community and that we all have to look out for each other," said Jacqueline Cantar, founder of Community Fridges HamOnt, which runs three locations in the city.
"It's unfortunate and it shouldn't be up to us to support each other in this way. But at the same time, if we do all band together and look out for our neighbours, we are very powerful together."
The rise of volunteer-run community fridges has happened as COVID-19 continues to clamp down on Canadians, causing job losses and adding to the struggle of keeping up with rising rent and food costs. They're an example of the good that can happen when residents rally around each other, but organizers say their growth also highlights gaps in government support.
Community fridges are found from P.E.I. to B.C. and everywhere in between, with a number of groups setting them up at sites across Ontario during different waves of the pandemic.
"Now there's some in pretty much all large cities across Canada … and we are all in support of each other, and offering each other advice and helping each other to get off the ground," said Cantar. "That's been a great support."
The fridge in Kitchener-Waterloo became a reality in August 2020, just 15 days after people first started talking about creating one, said Kamil Ahmed, an organizer with Community Fridge KW.
It came out of the challenges people were dealing with during the first summer of the pandemic and recognition that COVID-19 was pushing many into the cracks, he said.
Today, there's a network of nearly 300 volunteers who ensure the location at the Kitchener Market stays stocked, deliver hampers to people with mobility issues and gather food from local businesses.
"When we invite neighbours to come into a project that they can fully take ownership over and have direct impacts through, we've seen the power that can happen," said Ahmed.
"It's been really profound, actually, for neighbours to realize that they had this power all along."
Like Community Fridges HamOnt, Ahmed and his team have relied upon a network of fridges across North America for tips, techniques and answers to technical questions.
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