Organizers left ‘dumbfounded’ after community fridge stolen in Waterloo

The community fridge located at 150 Roger Street in Waterloo at the Cafe Pyrus Outpost has been stolen.

Organizers told CityNews Kitchener that sometime between Saturday and Sunday morning, the fridge was stolen and the shed that housed it was destroyed.

519 Community Collective is the organization that runs the program and provides items for it. It’s an important program that helps address food insecurity in our region.

Julie Sawatzky is the founder and chair of 519 Community Collective and she said this is something that has left her and her volunteers dumbfounded.

“Not only is the fridge gone, but the shed had been ripped open and severely damaged. All the contents were strewn all over the yard,” she said. “I think we were all just dumbfounded in that moment. How could someone even manage to do that?” she asked.

The fridge was originally a donation to the organization and they can’t imagine that whomever took it was doing it to sell it or make any money off of it.

Sawatzky estimates that the fridge can feed up to 40 families per day and it needs to be replenished multiple times a day with items.

“From the metrics that we have gathered based on all the information we have, usually once the fridge is filled up, it can feed up to 40 families depending what’s in there,” said Sawatzky.

The organization said the fridge typically contains non-perishables, fruit, vegetables, bread, vegan and vegetarian options available for those who use it.

“There sometimes could be 30 zucchinis, 25 loafs of bread, 50 apples, a case of carrots and a 50 lbs bag of potatoes all there on location at the exact same time. All of that split up can go quite far,” said Sawatzky. “We don’t accept meat, homemade items, dairy or alcohol.”

She said it’s not just families that rely on this assistance program, it’s also college and university students who need support as well as seniors who have used the community fridge.

“We have seniors and singles accessing the fridge, university and college students who are struggling. If you do it that way, it breaks out even farther because families would have more people in them. But, singles are utilizing it too and the reach goes even further. It’s pretty amazing how many people we can help feed with just that one fridge.”

The organization said they are waiting to hear from their insurance company to see what can be done to help replace the fridge. Sawatzky hopes that a brand new fridge can be bought that has warranty so they can get some more length out of it.

“We’ve had about 50 offers of people trying to donate fridges to us so far, but we are just waiting to hear back from our insurance company to see what that’s going to look like first. We want to do our due diligence on our end first.”

Sawatzky said a monetary donation can be made to 519 Community Collective to their email 519communitycollective@gmail.com to help go towards the infrastructure that needs to be built for the new fridge.

“We are going to have to build from scratch a proper timber frame structure, metal roof, proper doors, and shelving, the whole nine yards. If people are looking to help, reach out and we will get them connected to the volunteer network. We’re looking for a partnership with people who would have the supplies to help build the structure, volunteers to help build it. It will cost a bit of money to get everything setup properly.”

Sawatzky is hoping this can all be done as soon as possible. They are hoping to get it all together in the next month, if not sooner.