As volunteers on P.E.I. face a community fridge conundrum, experts say governments need to step up

As community fridges across P.E.I. and the volunteers who run them struggle to keep up with a growing demand, some experts question how much these initiatives actually help ease food insecurity. 

With food bank use on the Island up 80 per cent in the last five years, 14 communities in the province have set up low-barrier fridges to help.  

The idea is supposed to work like this: People with the means to donate grocery items drop them off at the fridge so others can take what they need at any time without judgment or stigma.  

In reality, though, things are much different. 

"We're starting to see an increase of where the first person in seems to be taking a disproportionate [amount], if not all of the food that they can carry out," said Paul MacNeill, manager of the Souris Credit Union, which opened a community fridge in 2022 on the eastern P.E.I. town's Main Street. 

"We're currently going through a bit of a review as to our delivery methodology to see if there are some improvements being made." 

'We just can't manage'

In addition to the challenge of keeping the fridge stocked, there are other concerns. 

MacNeill said they've had to install security cameras after a "security incident" near the fridge. Meanwhile, people occasionally sleep in the food cupboard, which deters others from using it. 

Hunter River, a rural municipality of just under 400 residents in central P.E.I., has seen similar challenges with its fridge.

Sarah Weeks, Hunter River's chief administrative officer, said they've also installed cameras, both for security purposes and to monitor who is using the fridge and how. 

Really, though, it comes down to keeping the fridge stocked with enough food to serve everyone in the community — and Weeks said that's getting harder to do. 

"We certainly want to help as many people as we can, but we have noticed people travelling from significant distances that may not be considered residents of the area that are tapping into multiple fridges in multiple areas and possibly multiple food banks," she said. 

"As much as we would like to be able to help everybody from tip to tip, we just can't manage that." 

As a result, Hunter River is moving away from a 24/7 community fridge and closer to a food bank model where people have to register to come and get their food once a month. 

Weeks said this will enable them to tailor the offerings depending on the needs of a senior living alone, for example, or a family of five with young children. 

MacNeill said he's thinking about taking similar steps with the fridge in Souris. 

It's so clear to me that the kind of public policy we need has got to affect the amount of money in people's pockets.— Jennifer Taylor, UPEI professor

Some who study food insecurity, though, have mixed feelings about community fridges. 

Irena Knezevic, an assistant professor of communication, culture and health at Carleton University in Ottawa, said initiatives like these put undue pressure on a small number of volunteers to solve an issue that's the responsibility of governments. 

And, she said, the food insecurity problem is much larger than what's being seen at the ground level or what's accounted for in statistics. 

For one thing, food bank and community fridge numbers don't account for those who can't access the service, or those who fear being stigmatized if they do. 

"It's really a bit like bailing a boat with a Dixie cup. Sure, it'll help keep the boat afloat a little longer, but a lot of people are drowning," Knezevic said. 

"It's really a social policy issue at a larger scale. It's a problem of social inequity, it really is that simple." 

Jennifer Taylor, a professor of applied human sciences at UPEI, agrees that volunteers are trying to do important work for those in need. 

But she also agrees governments are underestimating the food insecurity problem and need to do more to put money in people's pockets rather than falling back on communities to come up with their own solutions. 

"We're not seeing the needle moving at all, except making it worse. It's so clear to me that the kind of public policy we need has got to affect the amount of money in people's pockets," Taylor said. 

"Governments may mean well, but when we have citizens who are putting so much effort into this, it in a lot of ways is letting them off the hook." 

Taylor points to a basic income guarantee, increased minimum wage, and improving employment insurance and social assistance rates as immediate improvements that governments can make to help solve the problem. 

"We need to stop looking at food programs of any kind as a solution and start acknowledging that people don't have enough to live."