Community Fridge K-W has a new home in downtown Kitchener
Posted Nov 4, 2021 09:30:00 PM.
The 24/7 community fridge is back. After operating for about a year and a half with small businesses, Community Fridge K-W is now partnering with the Kitchener Market.
“This was an opportunity to work with the city, to work at a systems level and make some progress about how cities approach food security and sustainability,” said Kamil Ahmed, one of the organizers.
He adds, “They see us, they see the work we are doing, and they see the work as important so much so they are willing to give us the space and power to do it.”
Patrons will get to see an expansion to the community fridge. With the donation from Land Back Camp, the community fridge was able to add a pantry.
“We wanted to have more room for dry food. We wanted to have more room for hygiene and menstrual products because last year there was such great demands for it, but there was just not enough room in the shelter for it.”
The market has officially opened to the public as of November 4th. Still, Ahmed said they would be doing a four-month pilot project to see if the fridge and location are suitable for a long-term basis.
“This expansion means we can build more partnerships with clinics and small organizations that may supply masks, hand sanitizers, and tampons and pads and dry goods. It means there is more room for us to invite more people into the work and potentially maintain stock of the fridge on an ongoing basis.
Because this project was COVID-born, patrons are still encouraged to wear masks, hand sanitize, and physical distance. The community fridge is also following COVID protocols at the operational level. They have three volunteer check-ins a day where they remove items that don't belong, give the fridge and pantry a wipe down. To maintain lower levels of risk in the refrigerator, they will not accept raw meat, dairy products, alcohol, anything opened or expired.
Members of the community are encouraged to visit the Community Fridge. They can continue to check out their social media page to see what is coming.
Land Back Camp has been donating food all summer to the Community Fridge KW. We believe in community supporting community, so we donated our brand new pantry which is now attached the fridge. Yay! @amysmoke1 #LandBackCamp
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