Community Fridges 101

So, you want to get involved in a community fridge, but you’re not sure where to start. You’ve come to the right place.

A volunteer helps distribute food. Photography by Emma Kazaryan.

Finding a fridge

You can search for a fridge in your neighborhood with databases like this one from Freedge. You might have luck finding one near you or a fridge to visit on your next vacation. You can also search for community fridges in your area on platforms such as Instagram, where many groups stay active. And some groups, like in New York, also share maps of their specific city. 

Once you’ve found a fridge at which you’d like to volunteer, the best thing to do, organizers say, is just to show up. “Get to meet the other people who volunteer or the people who use it, and have conversations with them about what they need and what they’re looking for,” says Victoria Jayne, with South Philadelphia Community Fridge. 

Think about what you’re able to offer. Do you have a car? You could help with deliveries of food. Maybe you don’t drive, but you have a spare hour or two every week. One of the most consistently needed jobs is cleaning and maintenance of the fridge. Bring a sponge and paper towels and help out with a few minutes of scrubbing. 

If you don’t have time for regular volunteering, you can still help with the most important part of the community fridge—the food. If you’re doing your grocery shopping, pick up a few extra items to fill the shelves. Do you frequently have work meetings where there are tons of leftovers? Bring them to the fridge. The film and TV industries are notorious for having extra food every day, for instance. Can you connect the organizers to a restaurant or grocery store interested in donating food on a regular basis?

Photography by Emma Kazaryan.

What should you bring?

There are a few things to keep in mind when stocking a free fridge. First, label things, even if it’s just some masking tape or a sharpie. “You’re doing a great thing,” says Julie Haire with Los Angeles Community Fridges. “We love the sentiment, but you also should realize [the food] will be thrown out if it’s not labeled.” Even if you know what that food item is by looking, not everyone will, and they also won’t know when it was made or when it expires. . It’s also important to think about how people might be able to eat the food. If it’s in a can or needs to be heated up, that might be OK for some of your neighbors. But unhoused folks are unlikely to have access to cooking utensils. For that reason, Haire says that “grab and go” foods are the best options.

Also, fridges are not your dumping ground for inedible food or ingredients past their prime. A good rule of thumb is to put yourself in the shoes of someone going to the fridge. Would you choose that item? If the answer is no, it’s better saved for the compost bin. 

Starting a fridge

But what if there isn’t a community fridge in your area? You’re in luck. You get to be the person who starts one. 

First, check out if there are fridges in other cities in your state or province. They may be able to help you start a chapter in your city, and you can become a member of their team. Many mutual aid groups are happy to bring on more folks who align with their mission and can help spread the word even further. 

Packing up donated food. Photography by Emma Kazaryan.

You might even be able to become part of an established group such as Freedge through its fiscal sponsorship. If you want to be a nonprofit to be protected under legislation such as the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, but the process is onerous for a group your size, you could see if a sponsorship would help. “You find an existing nonprofit that says ‘OK, you’re a part of my nonprofit now,’ and all you have to do is report every year with financial statements,” says Ernst Bertone Oehninger, founder of Freedge. As Oehninger found out, a sponsorship is often a great way for smaller groups to get started while still working together under the same umbrella organization. 

Then, go over the resources. Many established fridge groups have FAQs available online to help you get started. Freedge even shares legal guidelines, to help you figure out everything you need to know when it comes to health and safety, as well as your responsibility when it comes to hosting. 

Choose a location

You will need a fridge, a way to plug it in and a host. For some, this is in front of the apartment building; for others, a community center. Oehninger says location is key. “If you are in a place that is more downtown or has a good supply of food services around, then your work as a volunteer is easier [when it comes to stocking the fridge], but it’s more difficult to clean, because of the high turnover,” he says. Ultimately, though, your fridge needs to be accessible. Think about where it might be best seen from all angles and by people both walking or driving by. 

Organizers tell us they frequently find free refrigerators on Craigslist or Facebook, but they especially like models with a glass door for people to easily see what’s inside.

A solar freedge in Oakland, California. Photography submitted.

Curb Appeal

Dress it up. A plain fridge is a sad fridge. Think about the curb appeal of your fridge. You’re likely to get more attention and more community engagement with a fridge that looks appealing. For some groups, such as Los Angeles Community Fridges, that means decorating each fridge in a different design and ensuring fridges can hold community bulletins and notices.

Next, it’s important to think about how the fridge might be exposed to the elements and what that might look like. You can find instructions from many groups on how to build a fridge shelter, which is a relatively simple process but can help protect your fridge in the long run. 

Build a team

Think of the fridge as a community resource that isn’t just about combating waste and hunger, but is a place that can bring a neighborhood together. Ask people to join you. There are many ways volunteers can help: pick and deliveries, stocking, cleaning, coordination, finding new donation partners, social media

A community fridge in South Philadelphia. Photography submitted by Victoria Jayne.

Fill it up

Lastly, but most importantly, it’s time to stock the fridge. Donations from individuals are always appreciated, but the best way to keep the fridge regularly stocked is to form agreements with businesses that would otherwise throw away their food. In New York City, there’s a partnership with local Panera Bread locations, which nets the fridges a regular supply of pastries and baked goods. Other groups we spoke with talked about setting up agreements with local or chain grocery stores or restaurants. 

If you’re looking for advice on how to approach a business about a partnership, the team at Los Angeles Community Fridges has sample scripts you can use.

But, ultimately, no matter what you are able to do for a fridge, Jayne says getting involved at any level is a help. “It’s really important to have that volunteer base, where you have a group of people who are really committed, because it is work to keep one running and it does require a community.” 

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