04/12/2025
Hello everyone!
Here's maybe a sensitive post to attempt but one we have been wanting to make in a while. It might be a bit long but we hope it is helpful and also answer some questions we get a lot. Hoping this starts a great insightful and respectful discussion.
Today, a generous donor (we won't name here as this is the philosophy of community fridges/pantries: take what you need, leave what you can, no questions asked and no tracking of who does what) put A TON of food in the community fridge, and we are thankful for it. 3 hours later, 90% of it was gone. The food drop was announced by the donor on a few local community Facebook groups as soon as the drop happened (10:50 AM).
What this example (see picture) shows is that:
🥕 The community fridge is working: food is turning over very quickly and to all the "fridge is bare / looking sad / needs food" comments, we answer: do not worry. Food comes and goes and our amazing volunteers see it everyday. As per the example in the picture, within a few hours you can have a very different surprise when opening the fridge. We do not track exactly what is donated but let us assure you... LOTS of food is coming and going in the fridge. We are extremely thankful for that! Thank you to all of you who donate and to our recurring donors who allow us to do regular drops of most needed items such as baby food;
🥕 We do not post often or ever on social media about food drops. The fridge/pantry works well on its own and we like to see the food going progressively rather than all at once. Feel free to post about food drops, we really appreciate it, but again, we do not track who donates food and who takes it. One principle, take what you need, leave what you can, no questions asked. This is mutual aid at its finest and neighbours helping neighbours. There is a lot of faith in humanity that has to go into this kind of project and trusting the process. We are so very grateful and thankful to the Erin community for supporting the fridge/pantry as much as it does and to respect it and keep it safe. It takes a village, so thank you.
🥕 With that said, when we see such a drop of food be gone within a few hours, we certainly hope that the donations are being well used and of help. Please remember though that others might be in need too and that sharing is caring. Take what you need and leave what you can, no questions asked is what we will always abide by and certainly hope that our community does too. We will never try and track or monitor who does what as it would be totally against the very essence of a community fridge, which as said above, is to trust the process and have unconditional faith in humanity and community. We continue to believe that people taking the donations are people that need it and that one day, they will return the favour, once they are out of the difficult spot they might be in right now. This is an inspiring thing to aspire to. Take what you need, leave what you can. Simple as that.
At the end of the day, it is very sad that the community fridge/pantry is so successful as we wish it would not be needed and be redundant. Unfortunately, food insecurity is real and doesn't go away. If you are in desperate need, please know that you are not alone and that there are resources to support you. Some of them are posted on the community fridge itself and will be reposted in the first comment below.
Our DMs are always open if you have any questions, comments or need an ear to talk. Thank you again to all of you for your support and for making this initiative so worth it to work on. ❤️☘️🍽
