Community Fridge opening this Thursday
August 13, 2024, 1:51 pm
Kevin Weedmark
This Thursday, a grand opening is being held for a new community fridge that will be accessible behind the Moosomin Food Share.
The fridge will house dry goods, refrigerated foods, and frozen foods, and will allow anyone in need of food to access it quickly and immediately, no questions asked, and without the need to sign up for food hampers. It will also allow people to donate food by simply opening the fridge, freezer or pantry, and placing food inside for people in need to take.
Samantha Campbell Samantha Campbell, Administrator and Manager with the Moosomin Food Share, says the fridge was made possible by a grant.
“I was actually applying for a grant and they give you a list of eligible projects and that was one of them, and when I started researching it, I thought it would be a good fit for our community,” she says. “The only others I know of are in the cities, so I started researching it and thought it was a good fit and that Moosomin could benefit from having one in our area.
“It’s basically a shed that has a fridge, freezer, and a pantry in it, so people can put acceptable food or hygiene items in it. The concept is take what you need, leave what you can, so it’s basically leaving food and taking food as you can, and we are calling on the community to help rally and fill the fridge. It’s a way to tackle foods insecurity in the community.”
Campbell says it took almost two years to set the fridge up.
“I got told I was getting it in September of 2023, I had applied for the loan at the beginning of 2023. We have a shed located at the back of the food share in the back alley. It was kind of the perfect spot. We already had the plug ins where we could run power to it so we got a shed built. It’s 4 x 12. Basically there are three doors made out of wood, there is siding, there is linoleum, we have it all insulated, and it’s shingled. We’re going to have a heater in it so it can be open throughout the winter as well. And then we purchased a fridge, a freezer, and we also have shelving so it will be a pantry as well.”
Campbell is hoping people come out on Thursday to see the new fridge.
“We are just finishing up on some finishing touches there so we are hoping that next week we can unlock the doors for people to start using it. We are going to have it fully stocked for the grand opening. We are advertising to tell people to bring something to stock it and come on down and check it out. We also might purchase some donuts and coffee from Tim Hortons for people to have while they come see it. We are going to do a ribbon cutting with Mayor Larry Tomlinson and I’ll say a few words on the project.”
Campbell thinks the fridge will be well used.
“We have quite a few of food clients that come to us, but we also know that there are so many people struggling that won’t come to the food share due to pride or for a number of reasons, so we are hoping that by having this open to everyone in the community, it will get used a lot more. It’s also one way people can give back, so instead of throwing their garden produce they can’t use into the compost, they can put it in the fridge for someone else to use.”
The grand opening will be at 12:30 pm on Thursday, August 15 behind the Moosomin Food Share.
