Growth of community fridges during pandemic shows the power of neighbourhoods, volunteers say

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."

Neighbourhoods finding power in food

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.

Both organizations said they're part of an Instagram chat that links different Canadian sites, and Community Fridge KW is part of Slack channel that widens that network to include U.S. locations.

How do community fridges work?

The goal of a community fridge is to offer people a place where anyone can come and pick up fresh food at any time, without judgment.

The word "community" works two ways — one refers to the people these fridges support and the other to those who ensure the fridges are full.

It's a concept that's catching on, even at McMaster University, where a group of students is leading an effort to build a fridge of their own with plans to open in the new year.

Zeinab Khawaja, a health promoter at the school's student wellness centre, described hopes the fridge will become a "hub of people giving back."

The university already has a food bank. But Morghen Jael, director of the McMaster Students Union Food Collective Centre, said this will offer something different: fresh food.

"It's easy to have the impression that university students are funded by their parents, and living it easy and just studying," the fourth-year student said.

"That's really, really not true. For the folks from whom that is not true, it's often quite dire."

Sufal Deb, a member of the student group working to set up the fridge, said he understands that need first hand.

In his first year, he suffered through food insecurity, he said, adding the plan is for McMaster's fridge to be available for staff, students and community members who live nearby.

"This is not meant to be hidden, come and use it … don't worry about it," he said. "Take what you need, give what you can."

That spirit of giving is inspiring, but community fridge organizers said the need for their services underlines a lack of support from the federal and provincial governments.

Ahmed said until the root issues can be addressed, fridges will be needed. He used a medical metaphor to make his point.

"Someone needs to stop the bleeding, to heal the wound, before we can even examine the wound because our patient might not even make it long enough."

He and Cantar encourage others who see a need in their community to step up and be surprised by what happens.

What do they need?

Community Fridges HamOnt doesn't accept homemade food, but its wish list this holiday season does include ready-to-eat options that don't require access to a kitchen.

Some suggestions:

• Granola bars.
• Muffins.
• Bread.
• Lunch meat.
• Hand-held fruits.
• More volunteer support to help clean fridges, pick up donations and lend a hand.