For Americans, one refrigerator is not enough
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Last Updated: Feb 24, 2021, 10:11 AM IST
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Synopsis
Around 35 million U.S. households have two refrigerators, and the Vincents are among the 6 million households that report owning more than two refrigerators, whether full- or dorm-size units, according to the Energy Information Administration, a federal agency that tracks appliance ownership. That number has climbed from 14% of all homes in 1978, when the agency first started surveying Americans, to 30% in 2015. About 27% of today’s urban homes and almost 40% of rural ones have at least two refrigerators.
New York Times
A GE refrigerator that was purchased in the 1980s in the basement of Doris and Anthony Vincent s home in Greensboro, N.C., Feb. 16, 2021. For many Americans, a second fridge and sometimes a third is another member of the family.
When One Fridge Is Not Enough
For many Americans, a second fridge and sometimes a third is another member of the family.
About 35 million American households own more than one refrigerator.Credit.Swikar Patel for The New York Times
By Cynthia Greenlee
Published Feb. 23, 2021Updated Feb. 25, 2021
GREENSBORO, N.C. The beige-and-brown General Electric refrigerator, circa 1982, whirs in a dark corner of Doris and Anthony Vincent’s basement.
Mrs. Vincent, a 70-year-old churchgoer and longtime community volunteer, can date its purchase with precision. In her home here, appliances mark milestones. And that nearly 40-year-old model one of three refrigerators she owns tells a story of her re-entry into the work force after having a daughter.