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In the summer of 2022, organizer Jackie Wilda committed to bringing the first community fridge to the NNN and began brainstorming with her neighbors about how to make it happen. Shortly afterwards, Wilda teamed up with Tara Smithson, and Feed a Friend, South Bend was born. Since then, the efforts of Ben Lerman, Molly Moon, our partners at Cultivate Food Rescue, and a dedicated team of volunteers have made this a sustainable project.
Feed a Friend, South Bend has received two grants from the local Awesome Foundation to cover the costs of electrical work and the construction of a shelter as well as donations from Notre Dame's School of Architecture. We have also benefitted from the gifts of our neighbors in the form of food, time, ideas, and donations.
Why do we need a community fridge?
Why do we need a community fridge?
The community fridge complements services provided by local food pantries and shelters by offering items not always easily found in these spaces, such as fresh produce, culturally-appropriate goods, and home-cooked, ready-to-eat meals.
The community fridge and pantry are accessible 24 hours/day. Anyone can claim or contribute food at any time. Feed a Friend, South Bend has no creed or affiliation, no requirements for participation, and no application process. For those living in its vicinity, it requires no transportation.
The community fridge also supports individuals who have difficulty accessing benefits provided by government safety-net programs (SNAP, WIC) because the paperwork acts as a barrier or the occasional nature of their food insecurity disqualifies them for more official forms of assistance.
Food insecurity can be periodic or perpetual. Sometimes it looks like students scraping by on ramen. Other times it looks like gig workers with unpredictable incomes. It can impact the unhoused or unemployed. It can also impact people with full-time jobs who still struggle at the end of the month. Food insecurity looks like families who can afford the shelf-stable stuff, but not the fruits and veggies that keep them healthy. It looks like seniors who skip meals to cover medecine. It looks like people we know.
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