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New community fridge opens on Worcester s Portland Street
WORCESTER The city’s latest community fridge opened here on Sunday, as organizers set their sights on even more locations.
The fridge located at 44 Portland St. like the first one that Worcester Community Fridges opened at Fantastic Pizza & Café, 910 Main St. just over a month ago allows anyone to drop off or take food, 24 hours a day.
Another organization, Worcester Free Fridges, has also opened a public fridge at 300 Southbridge St., next to the Miss Worcester Diner.
“It’s all about normalizing free food exchange,” said Maria Ravelli, one of the founders of the Worcester Community Fridges project.
Yes, it’s free: Fridges installed around Worcester offer food to any in need
Updated Feb 28, 2021;
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Behind the vibrant blue door of this refrigerator was a bounty of goods: apple sauce, cottage cheese, yogurt, mixed greens, milk and eggs.
More than just a vessel to keep food fresh, this fridge is a resource set up to help combat food insecurity, an issue that has only been exacerbated by the financial impact of COVID-19.
It’s also a way to connect people around support for one another and build resilient communities, said Billy Gove, a volunteer who worked with others to organize the Worcester Free Fridge.
Worcester council heaping helping of praise for food insecurity efforts
WORCESTER City councilors Tuesday praised the local ecosystem of organizations and city departments that focus on addressing food insecurity in the city, but urged administrators to continue to seek out new opportunities to keep people fed.
Councilors in December requested a report outlining efforts at getting food to residents who need it, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, the city has distributed more than $500,000 in block grant funding since the start of the pandemic to Centro, Friendly House, Rachel’s Table, the South Worcester Neighborhood Center, the United Way and Veterans Inc. City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. told the council Tuesday that since the report was created, the city has appropriated another $100,000 in federal CARES Act funds to food insecurity.
Community fridges a 24/7 Worcester endeavor offering free refrigerated food for others
WORCESTER Two community fridge organizations are hoping to keep the refrigerator light on for those who are financially strapped and hungry and looking for guilt-free, free meals.
A school teacher at the Fitzgerald Institute in Northboro, Maria Ravelli, spearheaded Worcester Community Fridges, or Woo Fridge, which she describes as a “free food fridge” network where community members can take what they need and give what they can.
“A community fridge is, basically, a form of mutual aid,” Ravelli said. “So, it’s not charity. It’s not a handout for the less fortunate. It’s just a way for community members to have a sustainable place to put their food that would otherwise be wasted and then it just allows other members of the community to access free food.”