Lennoxville unveils summer plans, community fridge in Square Queen
Lennoxville Borough President Claude Charron, as well as representatives for Saint-françois MNA Geneviève Hébert and Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Marie-claude
Bibeau, officially unveiled the borough’s summer plans at Square Queen Thursday.
Charron was also joined by several community leaders. Although Lennoxville’s Square Queen came into existence last year, it never received a
proper introduction due to COVID-19 health and safety measures. And it has since undergone major renovations.
The modest gathering area is packed with picnic tables and lounge chairs. The borough also added a performance
stage and a local vegetable garden for residents. And new this summer is the addition of a community fridge, known as Frigo Free Go.
“We had the street festival, so the borough had a budget for that, we just transferred the money here,” said Charron, explaining that since the festival is not happening this summer, he decided to divert the funds into acquiring the fridge project and developing the area.
It is all based on the honour system. The fridge is full of produce, and there are loafs of bread in the freezer. Residents can take as much as they would like from the fridge. And if they are feeling generous, people can also donate produce.
“We didn’t find the need for it because, you know, you have a lot of homeless people in downtown Sherbrooke, in Lennoxville we don’t have that a lot, but it doesn’t just serve them, it serves the bigger community,” said Charron.
This is the seventh Frigo Free Go in Sherbrooke. The first one appeared downtown, off Wellington Street, according to Charron. It is also used to reduce waste, as the project’s “eco partners” will place unsold or surplus products into the Frigo Free Go daily.
Mon Shack Founder and General Director Josée Parent, who attended the Square Queen Frigo Free Go launch, told The Record the fridge is a great way to give back to the community. There are many people suffering from food insecurity, and they often remain silent. They can become too ashamed to admit they need help, she continued.
“We have to remember that we have a lot of students in Lennoxville,” said Parent. “We have Bishop’s University, Champlain College, and we have people living with not a lot of money, so even if you are not homeless, it doesn’t mean you don’t have any needs.”
Mon Shack values community work, she said, and this is a way for residents to support each other, without turning it into a big deal. The fridge was acquired from the Corporation de Développement Economique Communautaire de Sherbrooke (CDEC).
The fridge is plugged into the Familiprix building to keep it running year-round. CDEC coordinator Evelyne Verrette said people cannot donate items like raw chicken. However, sandwiches are acceptable. A team will monitor the fridge, removing anything that has expired.
“There are volunteers that will come each week, at least two or three times, to look at the temperature, clean the fridge and to see if some food needs to be removed from the fridge,” said Verrette.
The Lennoxville Farmers’ Market will also start up again with new producers June 19. The market will run every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 16, according to a press release. Local musicians and DJS are also invited to perform on sunny Sundays.
The borough is currently putting together a performance schedule. Lennoxville has also partnered with Festival des traditions du monde de Sherbrooke (FTMS) to add more cultural activities to the calendar. Residents can check out squarequeen. ca for more details.