Woo Fridge Mid-Year Update (2022)
Published on September 25, 2022 by Julia Rose
Artwork by Andrew Romano, Clark University as part of the 2022 Spring CSA Initiative. Alternate text: Digital painting of a silver spoon in front of vibrantly colored yellow, orange, and green produce (cherries, carrot, peach, pear, turnip, and a lemon). The text above the image reads "Thank you."
The Worcester Community Fridges are a mutual aid initiative based in Central Massachusetts. Mutual aid facilitates systems of care that amplify the power and abundance that already exists within our communities. While this update reflects some of the organizing work that has happened this past year, the Fridges are sustained through the love of a much broader network of neighbors who clean, fill, shop, and share food at the fridges 24/7/365.
We hope that this update offers a window into how the Woo Fridges are organized, the types of community connections we cultivate, and the care and joy that sustains this work.
Alternate Text: Screenshot of a chat in Discord, Julia says "CSA days this week are Monday and Tuesday (CHP), Wednesday (Cotyledon), Thursday (Oxford Farm), Fri / Sat (Many Hands)," and Maria replies "Wow [emphasis]. Just realized we're getting fresh local food in the fridges daily *emoji of a flexed arm muscle*"
Summer is a season for abundance as the height of harvest season in the Northeast. This summer, the fridges got love from regular produce donations both large (e.g., hundreds of pounds of food arriving 2x/month through Central Massachusetts Food Rescue) and small (e.g., folks bringing community and home garden donations from all over the city!).
The Woo Fridges bring together community members from across Worcester County to organize food pick-ups from a variety of local businesses including:
- Farms: Cotyledon Farm (Leceister, MA), Oxford Farm (Oxford, MA), Community Harvest Project (Grafton, MA), and Many Hands Farm (Barre, MA)
- Grocers: Park n Shop (Auburn, MA), Price Chopper (Worcester, MA)
- Nonprofit Partners: Central Massachusetts Food Rescue (Worcester County), The Little Store (Worcester, MA)
Alternate Text: Three volunteers wearing Halloween costumes (a carrot, a superhero, and a werewolf) strike a pose as they stand behind a table with snacks and printed information about the fridges.
We are building connections with a variety of local mutual aid efforts, community-based organizations, businesses, and individuals:
- Tabling and building community in Worcester: We love opportunities to share space and snacks and were able to table at several community events this year, including The Village’s Saturday Marketplace, The Village and What’s Up Worcester’s Back to School Jam, the Worcester Bazaar, Clark University’s Community Engagement Fair, Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness’ Bloom Fest, the Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District’s WOOlympics, Platform 508’s Color the City 2022.
- Fridge moms! This year, we began partnering with the Parents Union of Massachusetts, who organize an amazing group of local mamas who clean, fill, and spread the word about the Fridges.
Alternate Text: A vision in wood, the new Portland Street fridge enclosure has a barn door on the left that covers a wide pantry, the fridge with artwork of fairies carrying produce is on the right, and above there is an awning that protects visitors from the sun and rain. The enclosure has a single red ribbon hanging across it, which would later be cut for the official re-opening of the fridge.
The fridges are not just functional, but beautiful!
- Art feeds the soul: The middle schoolers at Claremont Academy (Worcester, MA) have created multiple new pieces of artwork that adorn the Portland, Union Hill, and Main St fridge doors.
- Down but never out: Earlier this year, a windy storm struck down our beloved downtown fridge. Immediately, we got a call from the property owner at the Printers Building to figure out how to get the fridge back up and running as soon as possible! An experienced local carpenter (Larry) and metal worker (Amanda) rebuilt and secured the enclosure at 44 Portland St, donating both time and materials to create one of the most beautiful enclosures you have ever seen (hello, barn door!). Check out news coverage of the re-opening.
- Our pop-up fridge: The newest addition to the fridge team, our mobile mini-fridge allows folks to share food and drinks, reducing food waste at local events. Built by a dynamic construction team (Maria and Antonio) and painted by an incredible local artist, BrujaTheVillain.
Our online community is always growing and is a great way for you to get involved:
- Facebook: Our original Facebook group has over 3.5k members and daily posts from community members with updates, questions, and calls for action related to the Fridges. We have also created a central page for the fridges to keep official information, like our new Mission Statement.
- Website: Our website was built for us by the fantastic folks at Machado Consulting and is currently being updated by one of our incredible community members, Andrew!
- Instagram: Our IG provides current and (sometimes) chaotic content created by and for fridge fairies. We had fun this year making two videos: one with Julia and Moo from Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream (Worcester, MA) and another with fabulous, local filmmaker / fridgie, Alex. Check out our latest reel!
- Discord: With incredible custom emojis and over 100 volunteers, our Fridge Discord server is where the nitty-gritty of fridge life unfolds. Whether it is checking fridge temps, sharing fridge photos, finding coverage for pick-up shifts, or organizing new donations - the Discord has it all :)
So far this year, we have raised over $14,500 through our platform on Open Collective.
- Our Spring CSA Fundraiser raised over $8,000 from local businesses to purchase 14 CSA shares from three farms in Worcester County: Many Hands Organic Farm, Cotyledon Farm, Oxford Farm. In addition, Many Hands raised funds separately to provide the Fridges with 7 additional shares!
- Our monthly contributions (~$550/month) have allowed us to rent storage space from Worcester Regional Food Hub for larger donations, purchase supplies to bag large produce donations (e.g., a sack of potatoes), and do grocery shops to fill the fridges with less frequently donated items (e.g., dairy).
What’s next for the Worcester Community Fridges? There is always something new and exciting on the horizon:
- We will be tabling at the final Worcester Bazaar on October 8th, a Fundraiser for the People of Palestine on Friday, October 14th, and the Burncoat Center for Art and Wellness Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 16th!
- We will be working with a team of students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to gather some data about fridge usage (Fall 2022) and explore options for winterizing fridge exclosures (Spring 2023), as part of their Interactive Qualifying Project program.
- We are partnering with a volunteer to help us with grant-writing! Woo!
- Fingers crossed, we have some new food donation partners in the pipeline - stay tuned :)