RESIDENTS FIGHT FOOD INSECURITY
Community fridge in City Heights filled with fresh food, with canned items nearby; volunteers maintain it
A yellow refrigerator set in an alley in City Heights has become a symbol of hope for dozens of residents who take free food from its shelves every day.
The community fridge was installed by a group of young City Heights residents who want to provide free food to neighbors in need. It’s located in an alley between Wilson Avenue and 35th Street.
On Monday the fridge was filled with vegetables, cheese, milk and apples. Next to it on shelves were canned fruits, beans and pasta sauce and on the floor were plastic bins filled with personal hygiene items.
It’s part of a growing national trend. Across the United States, nonprofit organizations, grassroots groups and neighbors have installed such community-run fridges to address food insecurity and eliminate food waste.
There are community fridge projects in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. The fridges are typically placed in areas that don’t have easy access to supermarkets.
The idea is simple: take some, leave some.
The “City Heights ComeUnity
Fridge,” as it’s called, opened in January. Five organizers who live in the neighborhood and volunteers run and maintain it daily.
Naomy Espinosa, one of the organizers, said there are countless big food distributions held across San Diego, but some are not always accessible to everyone. Some also have limits on the amount of food people can take, she said, which is not the case with the fridge.
“People can take whatever they need ... if they need 10 bags of rice, they can take 10 bags of rice if we have it,” Espinosa, said.
Organizers say the community fridge also removes stigmas tied to seeking assistance from food distributions, mainly because people don’t have to wait in line. Anyone can stop by the fridge and grab food anytime, Espinosa said.
“Just having an accessible resource is crucial and essential in our community,” said organizer Tigist Assaye, who grew up in the neighborhood.
City Heights is an urban community in central San Diego. Nearly 45 percent of its more than 22,000 households have an annual income of less than $30,000, according to the San Diego Association of Governments, or about half the average median household income of the region.