It starts with a phone call from the 707 area code.
“Hello, my name is Damián Diaz. I’m calling on behalf of No Us Without You.”
From his end of the line, Diaz often hears the hurried shuffling of someone stirring, as if his call is what this person has been waiting for. Sometimes he’s put on speaker and can hear a voice call out, “Please, mijo. Come here. I need you to translate.”
As part of the enrollment process for No Us Without You LA, a Boyle Heights-based nonprofit that provides food and support for back-of-house hospitality workers without legal status who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Diaz begins with a series of questions to verify employment history: “Where did you work? How long haven’t you worked? Do you have a pay stub to prove that you worked?”
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Sitting on the sidewalk near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Plaza Street, the colorful Coconut Grove community fridge is impossible to miss. When I arrive at the location with volunteer Lily Winter, the first thing I notice is the writing inscribed on top of the fridge’s painted design of lush foliage. It reads, in swirling calligraphy: “Life Is Better Shared.”
This fridge is part of the Miami Community Fridge network. In August 2020, the grassroots organization Buddy System MIA began placing refrigerators filled with fresh food across Miami-Dade County. Anyone can access these fridges for free, and the organization’s unofficial motto is “take what you need, leave what you can.”
Everything you should know about community fridges, from volunteering to starting your own
Long before the pandemic, community fridge programs were providing food and supplies to those who need them.
Image: AFP via Getty Images
2021-01-09 13:00:00 UTC
Have you spotted an old fridge on your block, possibly painted in bright colors and surrounded by frequent visitors? You ve probably stumbled upon your local community-generated food-sharing program, also known as a community fridge.
Community fridges offer free food â from fresh produce to home-cooked meals â along with sanitary products and other health-related supplies to communities in need, no questions asked. Normally run by volunteers or individuals, the fridges are publicly accessible, and supplies are almost completely sourced from local generosity. While they ve been around for years, community fridges have recently gotten more attention as a way for people to support each other in pandemic times.Â
Change of Heart Wants To Bring a New Outlook to Streetwear
Change of Heart Wants To Bring a New Outlook to Streetwear
The new brand aims to bring luxury to the streets in a conscious way.
The new brand aims to bring luxury to the streets in a conscious way.
December 21, 2020
There is a new streetwear label on the block: launched in December, Change of Heart is a New York-based brand that combines carefully designed looks with consciousness about where they come from. The label aims to bring luxury to the street level through creations that are both minimalist and original.