Building Bridges with Food: The Woo Fridge Movement

Hey everyone, I'm Sarah Lange and I'm here to spark the philanthropy revolution. The word philanthropy means love of mankind. My show is all about the ways we can revolutionize our fundraising so we can raise more money and do more good.

Sarah: Hey everybody, Sarah Lange here with another episode of the philanthropy revolution. For those of you just tuning in for the first time or who don't know me, I am a professional fundraiser. I've raised over a hundred million dollars, worked with over 200 nonprofits. And today I am super excited, not to just have one guest, but two. So Maria and Alex are joining us from the Worcester Community Fridge Project. And I'm gonna let them tell you all about it, but they are one of my favorite nonprofits here in Worcester, Mass. So Maria and Alex, let's have you join us on stage. Well, on stage in the studio, there you are. And do you guys wanna just introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the Worcester Community Fridges and how it works?

Alex: You want to go first, Maria?

Maria: Sure. Can you guys see me? I don't see myself.

Sarah: Yes.

Maria: OK, is that normal? Hi, my name is Maria. and I have been involved with Worcester Community Fridges since it started in January of 2021.

Sarah: Great.

Alex: I am Alex. I've been involved in the fridges since early 2022. I'm also a filmmaker and I've filmed a lot of social media content for the fridges and I am currently in the production of a Woo Fridge documentary, which is really exciting, which has been funded with money I got from Worcester Arts Council. Really exciting stuff. And yeah, happy to be here today.

Sarah: That's super exciting. I didn't know you guys were making a documentary.

Alex: Yes.

Sarah: Excellent. So tell me about the emergence of the Worcester Community Fridges project. Like how did it all get started?

Maria: Yeah. So it started, I think, What we always kind of try and remind ourselves is that food sharing is not this like new revolutionary thing like folks have been sharing food and these like really beautiful and informal ways since like, you know predating colonialism and when you really look at like you know smaller communities where we're sharing food all the time. So it started as kind of a response to the COVID pandemic, and it's just kind of grown from there. So the first fridge was opened in January of 2021 in the main south area of Worcester. Yeah, we just kind of have grown from there. During the pandemic, we were really brainstorming, like, what are the safest, lowest barrier ways of getting food in the hands of people that are still out and about and trying to find resources? Because a lot of the feedback that we were getting was that food pantry hours had become kind of inconsistent for obvious reasons. So yeah, it was just kind of like one night we were brainstorming. What do we do? Scrolling on Instagram and then like community fridges popped up and just has never stopped kind of ruling like my life personally. So yeah.

Sarah: Yeah. So how many fridges are there now?

Maria: Five.

Alex: Five, I believe.

Maira: Like five, question mark? I think five. Yes.

Sarah: All right. Great. And how do the fridges work? Like just describe to people, because obviously I know what they look like, but just describe to people so they don't think it's like a refrigerator plugged in the middle of a parking lot. What does the Woo Fridge look like?

Alex: Well, there's like a wooden enclosure around the fridge itself. So it's not, you know, directly out there in the elements. And that wooden enclosure also hosts, like a pantry as well where people can put dry goods. So people can bring dry goods, not just refrigerated items. But the sort of image you describe of just a fridge being in the middle of a parking lot, more or less that is essentially what it is. I mean, we're really lucky to work with Larry. I can't remember his last name, but he's like an architect who donates a lot of his time and resources to the fridges. And comes up with really creative ways to build these enclosures so that they will withstand being out there in the elements and sort of house the fridges.

Sarah: Yeah, is that Larry Haley?

Maria: Yes, Larry Haley. I watched him for a second.

Sarah: Yeah, he's awesome.

Maria: Larry Haley got involved in the project. His partner, Jeff started just doing like a once a week food rescue. And then he, like randomly, I think one day either, like called or emailed us and was like, my wife can't stop, like talking about the fridges. And this is the talent that I, you know, kind of have to offer. And yeah, we've kept him ever since, which is really special because he's just, like brilliant and so thoughtful with his designs.

Sarah: Yeah. They're they're very sweet people and they've been involved in Worcester for a long time. Yeah. So how does it work?

Maria: It works however you want it to work, right? So it's like you can, I know everything with the fridges is very like, well, what do you make of it? Right. And that's kind of the booty of a community fridge. Like I think there's people that engage in the fridges in more infrequent ways and in more informal ways as you say as like, you know, I overcooked or I catered a meal for a birthday party. I have a bunch of extras, you know, they drop it off kind of one time. There's folks that are involved in the fridges every day. You know, Alex started as, you know, doing food rescues and things. And then all of a sudden, he’s like making this really beautiful documentary for it. So like the ways that people engage with the fridges are very unique to what they're, like capacity is right and what their talents are and like how they want to share that with the fridges. I'm not sure if that necessarily answered the question but yeah and then the ways that we get food into the fridges is folks that have capacity to organize food rescues right so that's reaching out to larger grocery stores and just kind of connecting with them and asking what do you do with that food at the end of the night? You know, so people are kind of engaged in different ways whether it's building partnerships with grocery stores, physically picking up the food and bringing it, using their talents like Alex to share the news of the fridges.

Alex: Right. And that's like a big thing that we're finding is that people have a variety of talents and they use those talents to interact with the fridges in a variety of ways. I think Larry is a great example of that. He's a really talented architect and he's using his skills in a sort of non-conventional way where it doesn't result in food showing up in the fridges, but it still helps out a great deal.

Sarah: Great. So just so people understand, the community fridge is where people bring food. It could be whatever food, however much food. So you give what you can and you take what you need. So what have you seen in terms of, you know, was there like more activity at the beginning and now it's waning off? Has it stayed pretty steady? Does it kind of go up and down? What are your observations about people participating in terms of food donations and food needs?

Maria: I think we have consistently noticed that it gets a ton of use. And that's been since, like day one, as soon as we really started pushing out, you know, this resource and letting folks know where they can come. And again, this was just when there was like that one fridge. So it was a little bit easier to kind of keep an eye and kind of look for those patterns. We did notice a lull in donations, I would say about like a year or two years into it. And that's really when we started kicking up our, like food rescue and our, you know, grocery store partners. And that trend has stayed pretty consistent. We get a ton, and again, it's difficult because we don't see all of the food that goes into the fridge. So I know that folks are still bringing food when they have extra, but we definitely have noticed. I mean, people are affected, right? Like money's tight everywhere. So yeah, we've noticed a steady lull in food donations and the people that are still going to the fridge specifically to grab food has really gone up.

Alex: And that's something I was gonna say. I mean, I think it's a pretty universal experience right now of everyone going to the grocery store and seeing the bill on their way out and just sort of being gobsmacked at just how expensive groceries have gotten. Like everyone I know is experiencing that right now. And I think that ties into how consistent the fridges get used, because people, they need food, people need food. And it's not always affordable.

Sarah: Yeah, for sure. I know that for me, you know, I've been involved with the fridges for a while and I love them because people can just go get what they need when they need it. And when I first started participating in the refrigerators, I would notice that I was often adding to something like so there was usually something already in the fridge or in the And now what I'm noticing is I'm usually, it's usually empty, right? So, I do food prep every single Sunday. I intentionally over-prepare. And then Sunday nights I go down to the fridge and I invariably now run into people waiting for someone to come to the fridge and I can't even get my stuff into the fridge or the pantry because people are like rooting through my bags. And I'm like, that's fine. Just like make sure you're. not spilling things or like, you know, taking all of it. Cause you know, there might be like, sometimes it's two people, one night I went there, there was like eight people. And I was, they just, nothing ever made it into their fridge or the pantry cause they just cleaned me out. And I also, when I travel, I will like scoop up all the hotel shampoos and soaps and everything and put them there. And like any kind of extra stuff that I have. Trying to think of an example of stuff I've dropped off. Oh, like somebody gave me socks for Christmas. I do not need more socks. So I just dropped them off at the pantry because I figure you're having a hard time with food. You're probably having a hard time with other things. But what I've noticed is people are so grateful. Like they're just so happy that you've thought of them and that you're bringing something. And like one woman was like crying. You know, one woman was homeless and she didn't have a blanket and I always keep a blanket in the back of my car so I gave her my blanket. And I just, like, just people are struggling and it's hard. So the fact that you guys have five refrigerators across the city to me is like such a special way to support community and getting people to engage. So in terms of the need. Do you guys, I mean, obviously, you know, talking about sticker shock at the grocery store, do you have plans to do any kind of like uptick in food rescue or filling the fridges?

Maria: Yeah, I mean, our ability to get, you know, partnerships and more food in the fridge is completely dependent on more folks engaging, right? Like we have a pretty consistent group of neighbors right now. We organize a lot on Discord. and we kind of see, you know, the same names popping up and everybody's doing, everybody's kind of at capacity for the most part in terms of like, what can we do more of? So I would love like that thought to go in people's minds when they're engaging with the Fridge. I think it's such a unique model. And a lot of people that are accessing the fridge are so used to like this, Alex and I were just talking about this the other day, this like nonprofit complex, right? This way of engaging with a fridge that's very much in like that charitable model of like, I have the resource and then I'm giving it to you. And with the fridges, we really try to blur that line between giver and receiver. So I like always encourage people if they go to the fridge and they're like, oh, this is like always empty. And it's like, well, like, do you have? an hour a day, like what kind of, what do you have access to that can help us get food in the fridge? We have some people that literally all they do is like make calls a couple times a month to grocery stores and that's great. Like you don't need a car for it, just need access to a cell phone. Like there's so many different things that we need. So like the answer is yes, always wanting to get more food, always trying to kind of grow this and get the word out, but it's completely dependent on like how much the community wants to really invest in this type of project.

Alex: Right. And that's why any opportunity to sort of share about what we're doing, like this especially, we really appreciate it because it is entirely dependent on people getting involved, seeing how valuable it is, and saying, you know, I have two hours a week to spare. I can go to a grocery store. I have some extra money lying around. I don't mind going to a grocery store and grabbing a few things. Like we, it's what makes us thrive. And so really appreciate this.

Sarah: Yeah. So have you run into, what are the challenges that you've run into with the community fridges?

Alex: Well, one did get shut down this past year. I think we were talking about that the other day as well. Just the trash issue is a big thing. Public trash facilities. The one that got shut down was in Maine South, and there were very few trash receptacles in that part of town, and that was a big factor in it getting shut down.

Sarah: So people were just... So I'll just explain, because I used to go to that fridge every Sunday. And then on Sunday I went and I was like, oh, it's gone. So just so people understand, this particular fridge was outside a restaurant and there was a trash can next to it. And my understanding is that people just started kind of dumping their trash there. So that became the issue.

Maria: And dumping their trash there because it was the only trash can. It was privately funded by, you know, neighbors that donated to the community fridges, but it was the only public trash can within like one or two miles of a high population, like highly walkable area. So we always try and remind ourselves to like shift the blame away from like the individual person that's like, it's not that's one person that like threw their Dunkin Cup in there as they were walking by. It's the fact that the city consistently does not invest in really specifically communities, right? And that's kind of the greater issue that we saw. And again, like going back to capacity of people, of neighbors, of people that are doing this work, every time we would drive by there, it was, the trash can was filled and we were at that point, we had, we've been working really closely with Superior Waste, they're located in Worcester, they're like absolutely incredible. They have a community fridge right outside of their building. And they were going like three or four times a week to pick it up. And then, um, and every time we would see it filled, we would call them. So all of those like logistics kind of start adding up. So yeah, it was like a really difficult decision to have to do that. But I think it, it was good about starting this greater conversation about how all of these like struggles are really interconnected and like trash is a humongous piece of, you know, the food system, the food ecosystem that the city was not necessarily ready to have a conversation about or invest in.

Sarah: Yeah, just so people understand. So in the city of Worcester, we have to pay for trash bags, but recycling is free. So the challenge is if you have something that's bigger than will fit in a trash bag, it's really hard to dispose of it. So because of that, because there aren't mechanisms and like you said, public trash receptacles, that leads to things like using the only trash can within a few miles because you don't have any other options, especially if you're at the lower end of the income continuum and you can't afford the trash bags because they're not cheap, right? So yeah.

Maria: It's not even specific to like the economic level of the individual person. It was like there's restaurants, churches, so people just walking to their car, their students from Clark, people just getting off the bus and headed home. It was everybody needs a trash can. Everybody needs somewhere to throw their trash as they're just kind of living their lives. And the city has no plans to invest in that. So it's a basic need regardless of your income. You need somewhere to put your trash when you're just out and about in your life.

Sarah: Yeah, that's such a good point because now that I'm thinking about it, I cannot think of a single public trash can in Worcester. Like, I'm just thinking about like the places I walk downtown or if I'm like driving, I'm like, I can't think of a single public, like that's so weird for a city not to have public trash cans.

Maria: Yeah, somebody had shared this picture of, it was like on one of the Facebook groups, like where is Worcester now or something like that. And it was a picture of Worcester and like, the 60s or something and it's like this area right in front of town hall and they have a bus stop with a, you know, like a little shelter over it. They have trash cans, they had, there was like a pay phone, like they just had all of these different resources just there and you look now and there's nothing. So, you know, the issue is getting worse, right? Unless we as a community, like really start advocating, like we don't have a water fountain in our entire city and people need water when the, when we go to the fridges and it's hot out, the number one thing that we get asked for above everything is just water. And when you really sit and think about how like effed up that is for a human being to not have access for water in their own community. Clearly, it gets me mad. Like I think it should get more people mad to be like how are, you know, How is the city not finding urgency and wanting to invest in these basic human rights?

Sarah: Yeah.You're right. Like, you just don't, you take these things for granted, right, like water, trash, but you're right, there's not a single water fountain that I can think of.

Maria: No, and then the city gets mad that people go to the library to drink water, and it's like, what? Like, obviously.

Sarah: Right. Yeah, well, that's good, because now I know to drop off water when I go. But and I don't know if this is on your Facebook page, but maybe having, like a list of highly needed items or things that are frequently requested would be good. Because I know. Yeah. Every time I go, I ask people, what do you need? Like, tell me what you need. And this one woman, she was so funny. She's like, I really need ice cream. I'm like, stay here. And I like went and bought a pie to ice cream and I came back but it was like here's your ice cream and I had like I gave her,I have like a bunch of plastic utensils in the back of my car and I'm like here you go here's a spoon and that was the woman who ended up crying.

Maria: Yeah I love that. Yeah I think it's like that's something to be really mindful of too, is like just keeping these things in your car right because how many times like we are going to find food, a blanket, like every time you leave your house, right? And I don't know about you guys, but every time I like pull up, I always feel like, ugh, like I know I had like a five in that other coat pocket or whatever it is. Like I hold on to a little bit of like guilt. So like always having kind of resources on hand. And then some of the stuff too that I've kind of learned in engaging with the fridges is even if you don't have like money or water to share, like roll your window down and say, hey, right? Like these are your neighbors that also need like love and compassion and conversation. So even if you don't have tangible things to share, like just sharing your energy and compassion, I think, you know, it means a lot to a lot of people.

Sarah: Yeah. A little bit of kindness goes a long way. And yeah, and the thing that is so moving to me when I go down there is, everybody is so kind and respectful. I mean, I definitely had a run in with a guy who was on something, who was pissed that I didn't have chocolate. And I was like, sorry. But I mean, that's been my only negative interaction. But like, you know, even then it was not a big deal. I was like, you're under the influence of something and you definitely need sugar, but I don't have any. But yeah, just the people are so beautiful and it's very humbling to me because I'm very aware that I am very lucky, you know, and that my life circumstances, you know, because of who the family was born in and the resources that my family had that I, you know, am very, very lucky in my life. And I also feel like it's really important for me, part of being a good citizen in Worcester, is making sure that people get what they need. And maybe I can't feed everybody who's hungry, but I can definitely go down to the fridge once a week and talk to people and ask them what they need and do my best to fulfill those needs. But yeah, I think if people would just stop for five minutes, even at the grocery store, I try to do a variety of things. So like fresh food and prepared meals, but also trailer trees. I rhino about, I ran into one guy one night who said I love salads because I don't know how to cook. So if you could get some of those salad kits, that would be great. I'm like, excellent feedback and, you know, just canned items that if people don't have access to a place to cook or they don't know how to cook that they can still feed themselves. And this one guy was like, I'm all about the hot pockets. And I'm like, great, I will bring hot pockets. I said to him, I said, I generally come on Sunday evenings, but somebody might beat you to it anyway. But just to me, the thing that I love about the fridges is that it just reminds us of our humanity. And that we can support each other and be kind. And it doesn't take a lot of time or energy or even money to just make a little bit of a difference in somebody else's life.

Maria: And I think like that's exactly it, right? It's also reminding everyone like us, you, right? That we're all closer to being dependent. We're like a few missed paychecks away, right? From being dependent on the fridges. So the more, when you're able to, the more that you can engage, you know, with the fridges, practice solidarity with your community, like the stronger these systems become for the day that each one of us will inevitably have to rely on these types of community resources for our survival, right? So always kind of moving with that. So when you donate to the fridge, are you donating food that you would eat or that you would share with your loved one? Because that's how you would want to also be, you know, getting food when you when you're there. So kind of just always thinking about those things when you're, you know, visiting a fridge.

Sarah: yYeah, for sure. So is there other challenges you faced since the outset of the project.

Maria: I don't know. Not really trash is pretty big. I think one thing that we've noticed is when like organizations right like established city organizations try to engage with our project and engaging with it like organization face first, right? When it's like you are a neighbor in this community, like you, I think there's just we really always try to encourage people like regardless of where you're coming from. Like there was a couple, I think Alex was like involved in this too, where we, this like law office who has never like donated to us before has it like literally the first email was like, can you tell us about the project? And then was like, we want to make this donation for, you know, the fridges, a cash donation, but we would like a press release like attached to this donation. And it was like, it was maybe for like $2,000. Like it wasn't this like, you know, huge amount. But as a group of organizers, we had this huge conversation about it where it was like, it's okay to call out people that are moving in that way, right? Because this when we like, we're all like Googling, like, okay, where is this office in location to a fridge? And there were like a two minute walk from the fridge, right? So it's like, take that $2,000, organize within your office, do weekly drop-offs like you do, right? Like, really think about how can we engage in this like long-term sustainable way? And yeah, like I think that for us was just like a really big like, oh, this is so icky. Yeah, there's, you know, there's more authentic ways of engaging with. We are a mutual aid community driven project, right? We are not a nonprofit. We are not this like organization. Like it's you literally email us and it's like me and another neighbor behind the Gmail, like talk to us nicely, you know?

Alex: Another big thing with that whole press release thing was that it in their email is, they had assumed that was the biggest donation that we had ever gotten before. And that was very much not the case. And so the whole thing behind this press release is like, we'll do a press release about the biggest donation you've ever received. And that was just, yeah, they were, they were assuming and you know what they say about assumptions.

Maria: And I think what was tricky with that too is that was while we were, I forget what it was. We were fundraising for something specific and that amount would have put us right to our goal. So a lot of the language they wanted us to use was like, you can, like we got you to that goal and it's like, no, because we also received donations for $2 and $20 and like who's to say that wasn't as impactful as, you know, this large sum that you're giving in one drop. I think that's really one of the most beautiful parts about the fridges specifically, but mutual aid work in general is like,  that, like one, you know, can of like soup that you bring has like equal weight to you filling the fridge it's like what do you have capacity to do and just do that thing because you're part of a community and everybody has different amounts that they can give and not one is like better or worse than the other. So just like do what you can.

Alex: Right, and the only way that it's going to work is if everyone shows up and gives what they have the capacity to give, whether it's $2,000, whether it's just a can of soup, like equating them in terms of value is like what makes the whole thing work basically.

Sarah: Yeah. And I love that idea that everybody has something to give, even if you don't have a can of soup to drop off, you could still like spread kindness and be kind. How do you guys keep, like the refrigerators clean? Like is that?

Alex: To show up and clean them.

Alex: To show up, exactly, yeah, show up and clean it. If you're somebody that is grabbing food, giving food, like the same way that we're encouraging people to keep water bottles in their car, like also keep some Lysol wipes and being able to give things a wipe down. When we notice that the fridges are not as clean as we want them to be, we have a Discord where we organize and I'm happy to share that link too, so you can share to people that are watching this. But we just say like, hey, notice Portland Street is dirty, can whoever goes by next time, just give it like a good wipe down. And it's just like all about kind of communication from there, letting people know like, yeah, I passed by. It's all set.

Sarah: Yeah. And now I know to keep wipes in my car too.

Maria: Yes.

Alex: And I believe this is still the case, Maria has plenty of cleaning supplies that she's happy to give out to volunteers for free. So like if someone listening to this wants to get involved, they don't have money, they don't have time to go to a grocery store and do a pickup. If they wanna get in contact with Maria, go and pick up some wipes and just whenever they have the time to track the fridges, give it a good wipe down. We really appreciate that. And it makes a huge difference, really does.

Maria: Yeah.

Sarah: Cool, so what are some of your favorite stories about the fridges?

Alex: The broccoli, I like Maria's broccoli story.

Sarah: What was the broccoli?

Maria: Oh, the-

Alex: You remember this, you had a food rescue that was like literally just broccoli and your car was built to the brim with broccoli.

Maria: Yeah, yep.

Alex: Am I remembering that correctly?

Maria: Yep, nope, you're like re-triggering all of it. We got a call from the Walmart in Leicester and this was like- maybe this was summer of 2021 because we had just started thinking about, okay, will grocery stores, you know, donate to things like this? And this was before we had a fiscal sponsor. This was when we were just like out here with like a Venmo and a dream, like trying to make this work. And we got a call from Walmart, or I think a neighbor like connected us. They like called us and we're like, there is a ton, it was broccoli and pineapples. There's a ton of broccoli and pineapples at this Walmart. Like, is that something you can like pick up? Lke I just got called everybody and because this was like palettes like palettes and palettes of broccoli…

Sarah: Oh wow.

Maria: And I just called everybody like my mom showed up. This is where I met one of like the another organizer that is like really heavily engaged in this project Julia. There was like so many just kind of random people that were like coming from Worcester to Leicester just to pick up this broccoli. And my car was packed and then my mom was like, she calls me Fernie. She's like, Fernie, what are you doing? Like what's going on? I filled her car with broccoli. Like, I know this was too at a point where we only had two fridges. So it's like, we didn't really have like anywhere to put it. And then that's, you know, a time too, where I realized, okay, if it doesn't go into the physical fridges, like, we can now kind of lean on Facebook pages like mutual aid, Worcester and buy nothing Worcester and really start practicing like, hey, like, hey, community, I have a ton of broccoli in my yard. Here is my address and come take it. And that has been a strategy that I personally love to use a lot when I have filled the fridges or have at my capacity of leaving my house. I just throw stuff out, and folks come and take it. So yeah, it was like broccoli of 2021. That was a wild time.

Alex: The myth. The legend.

Sarah: It makes it seems like the broccoli parade making its way from Worcester to Leicester.

Maria: Yeah, it was a lot. It was really funny. I think another one of my favorite moments. So when the fridge, when Main Street first opened, there, you know, we didn't have this like huge network of neighbors that were engaged with the project yet or even knew about it. So I was definitely there like more frequently than I, like physically at the fridge more frequently than I am now. And so I would like park outside of my car just to like, after I fill it, just like to take a minute, just to be like, whoo, like watch it in action and just kind of like sit and be like, whoa, this is so beautiful. And there was this neighbor that passed by and I think he was like drunk or something. He was having like a good time. And he like passed by the fridge and he like said something in Spanish along the lines of like, God listened to me. And when I went to go like check in with him, I was like, hi, like, are you good? or what do you need, whatever. And he was like, I passed by this area a couple of weeks ago. And I said, God, like, I just need food. I need a sign that you're there to help me. And he's like, and there's a whole fridge in front of me like on the street. And he was like, this is the most clear sign for me. And I was like, this is so funny because yeah, what is a fridge doing out here right now?

Sarah: I know, right? Yeah, it is a little random when you first encounter them. It's just because you don't expect to encounter a refrigerator on the sidewalk, right? Like that is completely out of context. And like you mentioned, they're all in like little sheds, but it's still weird, right? And I know the one on Main Street was decorated. I don't think the one on Portland Street is, but yeah, it is kind of an unusual encounter to be having, like just walking down the street, all of a sudden, whoa, a fridge.

Maria: Yeah, it was like the most like literal answer to like whatever he asked for the week before. It was so funny.

Sarah: That's amazing. Are there any other stories you want to share? I don't know.

Maria: I don't think I have any. I think, yeah, it's like hard to remember them, like on the spot. But I know, like, for me, my personal favorite way of like, engaging with the fridges is like, I just pull up, I put some music on, I like clean the fridge, like really setting that energy of like, I don't know, just like make it a good time, right? And I think those are like my most favorite memories. And then people like come and you make small talk and yeah, I think it's just kind of like really beautiful to be part of this type of work.

Sarah: Yeah. One of the things that was striking to me when I first started working with the fridges, that must've been back in the pandemic, I don't even remember how I found out about you guys, but I definitely remember it was still in the pandemic when I started going and what was striking to me and is still striking to me is how humble the people are that come to the fridge. And how it kind of is heartbreaking to me because these are people who are already like on the edge, teetering, you know, maybe don't have the most stable income or, you know, housing or whatever. And yet they somehow it's distressing to me when they treat me like I'm better than they are. Cause I'm like, no, like this, you are the same as I am. We both put on our underwear the same way. Like you're, you deserve the same amount of respect that I do, which to me is like common human decency. And it's just striking to me how that is so consistent in terms of my experience. And it just makes me really sad because It's not like hunger is not anybody's fault. Do you know what I mean? It's like you didn't do anything to, you know, raise your hand and go, yeah, I don't wanna know where my next meal is coming from. Sign me up for that. You know, and just how stressful that must be. And yet how they're so, I mean, it's not even, it's like not humble is not the right word, but it is kind of heartbreaking to me how they see themselves as lesser than in so many instances.

Alex: Right. I mean, I think that's what sets us apart from like a food bank structure, especially. Like, and especially a lot of the language that's used around the fridges, like I really, like we refer to everyone as neighbors. And that's just like, as you were saying, like we're on the same level, like nobody is better than anyone here. And I also feel like with a food bank structure, you know, you're getting into profit incentives. Like, they have a bottom line at the end of the day. And sometimes people feel like they're just a number when they walk into a food bank. Their information gets input into a computer the same way it does anywhere. But the fridges facilitate that those sort of real world connections way better than any food bank ever could. And I think that is really part of the magic of community fridges.

Sarah: Yeah.

Maria: And I think too, like food, the food system is so wasteful, like from start to finish, right? Like if you, I mean, you can see videos online and like we experienced this when we do food pickups of just stores that are just dumping like good quality food just because you know the regulations that they have whether it was like oh power went out for two minutes like we've got to throw the entire dairy section away even though the food is still great and there's something i know when i first started doing food pickups there's something really shocking about seeing that amount of food that was just like on the shelf for ten dollars like an hour ago and seeing that amount of food there. And as somebody that is like, I'm very blessed, but I'm still living paycheck to paycheck, right? When I see my brand of like eggs in there, I'm like, I'm taking that. Like that is mine to take. So I think being able to engage with the fridges from that lens of like, it doesn't matter if you know where your next meal is coming from, like there is a palette of like really good food. Like I'm calling my mom and all of my family is going to eat and then I'm calling my neighbors and I'm calling my friends. And I think the more that we normalize like free food exchange in that way, like when I go to the fridges, I try my best to like go out of the way of being like, please take this. Like I already got mine like this is your turn to take this. Like there's not this like weird policing of resources around it. Yeah, and I think that's like something that's really different, right? And like this type of model where it's like, this food literally was just like fell off the back of a truck, like we're all gonna be eating today cause like what else are we gonna do, you know?

Sarah: Yeah I agree with you. The food system is extraordinarily wasteful and I just, there's gotta be a way. I mean, obviously you guys are filling a little bit of that gap, but I'm just thinking about this huge gap between like the amount of food that gets thrown away and the people who need it. Like we're smart. We could figure something out. You know, the amount of food that just gets tossed and wasted, like, can we not figure this out people? Like there's gotta be a way to build a bridge. Of course we can, we just don't want to.

Alex: That's what I'm saying about profit incentives. Like nobody's getting paid, so it's not inherently valuable when like it is so valuable that like people have their needs met and that like people don't go hungry. Like you said, it's not their fault that they're going hungry. So like, why can't we figure it out? It's because money is involved and it sucks.

Maria: And like you're telling me like these giant, you know, corporations like Target like can't just also put like a little free sign in front of like the food that they have to put out. I think there's something, I always say that, the fridges are this like beautiful project and whatever, but at the same time, it's a sad thing to really sit with the fact that there's so many people here that are praising our resilience and our ability to survive under capitalism, which is not inherently like normal or healthy for like any of us to be living under these conditions. So I think really thinking like, Yeah, it's great that we have to hustle to get neighbors there to rescue food and then go there. But Target can also just say free. People can just go there and get their needs met. But we know why corporations can't do that or why they won't do that.

Alex: And as much joy as this brings the volunteers and it brings us and it brings everyone involved, there is this really dark shadow hanging over it where it's like, The stakes for battling food insecurity are extremely high. If people don't, they die, like bottom line. And the fact that we haven't figured out a better system, and again, the fact that we have to have community fridges, like it just ends up leaving a bad taste in your mouth because it's like, we should be smarter than this.

Sarah: Yeah. I, you know, I don't really have mixed feelings. I feel that I am very lucky and blessed to be able to go to the fridges once a week and share what I have with people. And I do it joyfully and gladly, but it also just pisses me off because there is so much food that goes in the trash that could be feeding people. And Alex, you're talking about the reality that if people don't eat, they die. Like this is a fundamental like food, clothing, shelter issue. And the fact that you know, we don't have any desire to fix this problem, which is so easily fixable, you know, like it can't be that hard to figure out like how to get the food from, you know, the place where it's about to be thrown out to the people who need to eat. And it just, you know, it just pisses me off because we're willfully allowing all the ancillary issues that come with food insecurity including obesity, hypertension, anxiety, dental problems, like, you know, behavioral issues and absenteeism. Like, guys, do you not see the ancillary costs of this? This isn't just about not knowing where your next meal is coming from. It's about the stress and the anxiety and then how does that leak into your life? How does that affect your health and well-being? You know, it's just, there's so many ripple effects from this one issue and yet we don't seem that motivated to try and change it. So yeah, it's like every time I go to the fridge, it's a joyful experience for me, but it's also heartbreaking and it just makes me mad. Because it doesn't have to be this way.

Maria: Yeah, it needs to get everybody mad for sure because there's, this isn't a sustainable way for us to be living, like outside of the fridges, even just, I mean, we know that food insecurity is like a symptom of poverty that's caused by, inequitable wages and unaffordable housing. And so we really need to be having these bigger conversations around, okay, well, why are, cause like we're not gonna solve food insecurity, right? But like we can rage like hell about affordable housing and hopefully kind of start there. But yeah, I don't see us living in a world where you can walk into a grocery store, at least in our timeline, where you can walk into a grocery store and just pick whatever you want for free and walk out. But what can we actually do? It's really start organizing and having these conversations about the leadership that we have in this city and start looking at them through this critical lens of, are you actually working towards meeting my needs of being able to afford my house? No. Then get out of here with cheering for the community fridges because if you're not going to actually vote where it counts, like you just want us to be cleaning fridges forever, Mo Bergman, come on. Please understand me, I’m a mother.

Sarah: Yeah.

Alex: I love the call out.

Maria: Oh my God, yeah.

Sarah: Well, you know, you got to say it like it is just…

Maria: Yeah, I mean, very clear.

Sarah: Yeah, and that's the thing that, you know, is so interesting to me having lived in this city. So I came here in ‘93. So I'm sure I'm still not from Worcester. I'm sure I don't qualify yet, but, you know, the city seems to have a will to do so much, right? Like, let's build a baseball park, let's tear down table-tuck pies, let's tear down a cathedral, let's build lots of apartments. So you have the will to do that but you don't have the will to invest in trash cans or provide, you know, like if you look at the statistics in Worcester, like Worcester public schools, 95% of the kids automatically qualify for free reduced lunch. Okay, city council, could you take that in to account and then think, oh, what else does that mean? Well, it means they're coming from families that are under-resourced. which have all sorts of other implications for the quality of life in the city. Like, it's not that hard to expound guys, you know? And, you know, it just, to me, it just, it's so interesting to me, like, where the city directs its will and its energy.

Maria: Yeah, it's so infuriating. So I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, which is a significantly larger city than Worcester. And my whole life I've been, especially my teenagers, really involved in community organizing type work. That was not the language that I used at that time. At that time I was like, yeah, I'll make some sandwiches and pass them around downtown, right? But now knowing that what I was doing was building solidarity and practicing solidarity. And back then I would have never been able to have like a city councilor's phone number on my phone. Like these people in leadership are so unattainable in large cities. So organizing in Worcester, it's extra infuriating that I have certain city councilors phone number. Like I have them on Facebook. What are you talking about? You're not gonna like vote for affordable housing. Like I know where you live. Like that's me so happy….

Sarah: Great! I will be ringing your doorbell at 2 a.m. and toilet paper in your trees.

Maria: These people are, they're literally our next door neighbors that are making these gigantic calls about our quality of life. And then because the working class, all of us are exhausted from being the working class, you know, we don't have the energy or the capacity to like mobilize and engage and like go knock on that door of the city council that shall not be named again, you know, like you don't have to do those things. And So I think for me, that's why I get like extra kind of riled up around that conversation. Because it's like, this is not when we say affordable housing, it's not like this far fetched idea that like maybe one day Worcester will have it. It's like, we had it. And then what happened? Like, let's go, let's get boots on the ground. People need to start moving. Having these really difficult conversations, calling out the city councilors, like we really need to stop being so complacent as you know, as a community.

Sarah: Yeah. So when I first came here, I was actually working in the world of affordable housing. And I was working at Oak Hill CDC, and we looked at community development beyond bricks and mortar. So we were organizing the community, right? So what issues matter to you? Let's get a task force going on that. And so I remember we had a city councilor come to one of our community meetings because people are very angry that the branch library had been closed up on Grafton Street. And so they wanted to call the city counselor into account. Like now what are our kids supposed to do when they have homework and projects? And his answer was, well, they can just walk to the one downtown. And they're like, would you send your eight-year-old from Grafton Street to downtown? And that was like before things were better in that section of town. I mean, like no, I would not send my kid. And also that's an awfully long way to ask a kid to walk. There were no sidewalks at the time.

Maria: And also you pay taxes to have a library. Like what?

Sarah: Right, right. Yeah. It just like to me, that was his answer. And I'm like, wow, you are super disconnected from the reality. You technically live in this neighborhood, but you don't live in this neighborhood. Like you reside in this neighborhood, but you don't live in this neighborhood. You know, and just the whole disconnect between what is really going on in the city. It's like just mind blowing to me. Like, have you not noticed the increase in panhandling? Have you not noticed this? Have you not noticed that? I mean…

Alex: It's hard not to notice, but it's just the energy they direct towards it and what they put forward to solve the problem. It's just so ass backwards and it ends up. I mean, especially the way they've like shuffled the homeless people around the city, you know, like sweeping encampments and stuff like that's another whole can of worms. That's a whole nother podcast episode for another day but yeah.

Sarah: Yeah. When I heard about what they did over behind Walmart, I wanted to like find someone and punch them in the face like you seriously gave people 20 minutes to get their like that is just inhumane, unreasonable. I was furious. I was so mad when they did that.

Maria: And they're doing that every single day too, right? That was a larger encampment, so I think it got a lot of eyes on it. But I hear stories daily of folks at the fridge where they're like, yeah, this is an individual that's living with one other person in that little area. And their tent just got taken down and moved. There wasn't a notice, there wasn't any there wasn't anything, right? And this is happening every single day in our communities. And I think we're lucky that we have a couple of counselors that really do represent the community needs, like Counselor Attell, Counselor Tu, Counselor King. But like, that's not unfortunately doing enough. Like we don't have enough like progressively minded people on council where we're actually seeing movement there. So I think that's like a big takeaway maybe from this is like really encouraging people to like just because that city counselor has been representing your district for 15 plus years and just because you are individually happy with what you have gotten out of it, it doesn't mean that the way that they're voting isn't causing harm and violence on a daily basis to other people that also live in your community and have equal amounts of rights to a safe, happy community.

Sarah: Yeah. Yeah, it just reminds me of what they were doing down in Austin a few years back. The state of Texas passed some legislation that said you can't camp on ground that hasn't been designated as a campground. So you know exactly that was aimed at. And so the state police came through Austin, excuse me, and like just cleaned out the camps. And so because Austin is so progressive, there was a huge backlash. So the city solution was to put them out on an abandoned Department of Transportation parking lot. This is Texas in August. And there were like a dozen porta potties, no running water, no electricity. You can imagine how that went.

Alex: Terribly.

Sarah: Yeah. So I was doing a lot of work with the organization that came in to help. And now they've created a permanent homeless encampment. It's 200 tiny houses and they're broken out into, they call them neighborhoods and there's so their clusters of 50 and the 50 are all around like a communal kitchen and a communal like laundry facility and communal showers so that they're small like little areas and then so they have four of them and you know it's unfortunate it's cost them millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars to get this encampment permanently done because they had to pull up all the tarmac they had to run water electricity, sewer, they had to run all the utilities underground. And so, you know, we used to joke that like their underground was worth five million dollars because that's how much it took to get all the services run. But, you know, the OK, so great. Now we stuck our finger in the dyke. And so now they're like, OK, our next thing is going to be affordable housing. But like, I just see this happening in cities, all of the places like. Rather than actually dealing with the problem, we're just moving it.

Maria: And I think too, like to that, I think projects like that are like really interesting and I don't know about that specific, you know, project enough to speak on it, but I always look at those and I'm like, that is so silly because there are more abandoned buildings in this country than there are unsheltered people. And again, I think it boils down to what we were talking about profits and capitalism really being this huge arc that we're all kind of living under. And I think it doesn't take this economic genius to figure out that the way that we're living right now is not sustainable and it's only getting worse. So to bring it back to the fridges, that's why it's so important to engage with projects like this, because we are all kind of tiptoeing our way towards that, right, and having to really rely on these social safety nets that are maintained and created by neighbors. So yeah, Engage at the Fridges is a big takeaway from all of it, I think.

Sarah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I just want to say that I'm so grateful to you guys for starting this project and carrying the load. And I know you've got lots of people helping you and volunteering and participating, but, for anybody who's out there listening to this, get involved with the woo fridges. If you're not living in Worcester, Mass, start a woo fridge project where you live, because I guarantee there are people who are hurting for food and need your love and attention as a neighbor. So thanks to you guys for joining me. It was great to spend some time with you and rant a little bit.

Maria: Yeah, I do apologize for getting heated. I think a lot of, you know, those types of effects are so triggering for me and for most people.

Sarah: Yeah, you do not have to be apologetic about being fully self-expressed ever with me. All of you is welcome here. Yeah, and Alex, what's the timetable for your documentary? I'm curious.

Alex: Thank you. It's in production currently. I did a really good interview with Maria here the other day. There's lots of other interviews and things coming up. But right now, mid-November, there will be a screening for the documentary at the White Room in Worcester, and more details to follow.

Sarah: Excellent, I will be there with bells on.

Maria: And if people want to, you know, keep up with, to attend that filming and just kind of keep up with the work that's happening with Woofridge's, we're pretty active on Instagram, it's @Woofridge. And then if you have like any questions or you want to get involved or anything, we have a Discord and then also our website woofridge.org. There is a contact us section there.

Sarah: All right. And can you do the Instagram handle again? I want to scribble it down so we can make sure to include it.

Maria: Yep. It's @woofridge.

Sarah: Okay, great. So thanks again for your time. We will let you know when we're going to. post the recording and appreciate you guys spending some time promoting this very dear and wonderful project. I appreciate you guys.

Alex: Happy to do it. Thank you.

Maria: Thank you for being part of it for so long. We appreciate it.

Sarah: Yeah. All right. Thanks guys.

Alex: It was nice meeting you, Sarah. Have a good one.

Sarah: Yeah. Okay. Bye.

I'll be back in two weeks with another episode. Got topics you want me to cover? Organizations you want me to showcase? Let me know. Also, I'm here to help you revolutionize philanthropy at your nonprofit. If you want to talk about what that looks like, drop me an email.