WORCESTER—Neighbors feeding neighbors.
That’s the spirit behind the Worcester Community Fridges, the first of which opened in January 2021. The refrigerators, plugged in at various locations around the city, are hosted by a business, institution or school and stocked by the goodwill of neighbors. You leave what you can; you take what you need.
The very first community fridge in Worcester was hosted by Fantastic Pizza on Main Street. Now, there are five fridges. The food is free, it’s available 24 hours a day, and while, yes, sometimes the shelves are empty, more often than not there is food available.
Dennis O’Connor makes about 250 brown bag meals each week to leave in the fridge that his company Superior Waste and Recycling sponsors. He started hosting the fridge this past November and has seen hundreds of people come by for a meal, for something perishable or a pantry item stocked in the adjacent pantry, which is for non-perishables. Lights wrap around the fridge and attached pantry to make it a bit more inviting at night.
O’Connor says he and his family used to cook for a local shelter regularly. When the shelter closed, he was looking to give back in another way. “There are so many homeless people,” he said.
Although he knows for some the actual ingredients are helpful, for others, it’s “What’s a package of raw chicken going to do for you if you can’t cook it?” That’s why O’Connor has opted to prepare ready-to-eat meals, which he says usually consist of a turkey or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a granola bar, a clementine and a juice box. He says the fridge at his waste removal business is stocked by his employees, by neighborhood kids who are volunteering with a church group as well as a representative from Target who comes every other week to donate, too.
“People are always dropping things off and picking things up,” said O’Connor.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 17 million households in the United States experienced food insecurity at some point during 2022. According to the Central Mass Housing Alliance, the homeless population in Worcester has increased exponentially over the past few years. The situation is rather dire.
These fridges make a real difference.
“I think the community fridges have allowed some folks to have a better understanding of what it means to be in solidarity with their neighbors,” said Julia Karpicz and Maria Ravelli, both organizers for Worcester Community Fridges, in an emailed joint statement. “There is abundance and power within our community and the free fridges have helped make that very clear. Community fridges are an example of how public infrastructure can strengthen our community and expand our capacity for collective care.”
Food guidelines are on each fridge and can also be found on the organization’s website. They do not accept raw meat, or expired or opened items. But people are welcome to bring homemade meals that are clearly labeled with ingredients, and the date on which they were prepared. The organization asks that neighbors and those donating adhere to the guidelines and help keep the sites clean and organized.
“We receive donations from a variety of places,” continued Karpicz and Ravelli. “We have a group of neighbors who rescue food from grocery stores, restaurants, farms and other food vendors. Other donations might come from neighbors bringing a few items at a time, or schools organizing a food drive and businesses committing themselves to filling a fridge once a month. It’s cool to see all the different ways neighbors organize to fill their local fridge.”
The fridges are at the following locations: The Printers Building, 44 Portland St.; Worcester Academy, 42 South St.; Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, 16 Brooks St.; St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 695 Southbridge St.; and Superior Waste and Recycling, 2 Kansas St.
“There is a long history of food-based mutual aid within black and indigenous communities that predates and informs this work,” added Karpicz and Ravelli.
“The city has historically prioritized spending resources on policing and enticing developers instead of ensuring everyone in our community has access to housing and food,” continued Karpicz and Ravelli. “We are entering our third year of organizing the free fridges and are saddened that this is still something neighbors have to do to survive, while the police budget gets inflated each year.”
Those interested in learning more about the locations or donations can find information at woofridge.org and on Instagram @woofridge.
Bridget Samburg is a freelance editor, reporter and ghostwriter. She has written for Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe and Yankee Magazine, among other outlets. She can be reached at bsamburg@comcast.net
