The Dorchester Community Fridge, a volunteer effort to help out neighbors experiencing food insecurity, has opened in a new location at ABCD’s Dorchester service center at 110 Claybourne St. in the Four Corners area.
Tucked into the side of a large yellow building off Park Street, the Fridge and an adjacent small pantry offer produce and food items at no cost, no questions asked 365 days a year.
“It’s a food bank, essentially, but it’s free for all,” said Michael Zayas, one of the coordinators of the non-profit. “We don’t ask anybody any questions about their immigration status, their housing status, so that would be one of the main differences. It’s also completely run by volunteers who live here in the community.”
Zayas started helping out with the Fridge project in 2020 when it was in business at 1471 Dorchester Ave. in Fields Corner. Later left homeless by a new development at that site, the Fridge went on hiatus until ABCD Dorchester stepped up last spring with an offer to host the operation.
“ABCD supplies us with the electrical, and obviously, the great space here, but then we , aided by a group of around 20 active volunteers who are on site three times a day, are solely responsible for the upkeep and maintenance,” he said.
“And while we don’t have the oversight from a government entity, we schedule volunteers to come here regularly to maintain the fridge and keep it clean and working properly.
“We don’t turn away any food unless it’s expired or improperly packaged,” he added. “If a volunteer comes to the space and sees open containers, we toss them. If a volunteer comes to the site and sees open cans, we toss them.”
Some of the items the volunteers find in the Fridge are milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and prepared foods. The freezer below is often full of raw meat and fish, frozen meal kits, frozen fruits and vegetables, and even sweet treats like ice cream and popsicles.
To the right of the Fridge is a dry pantry space with shelves offering dried rice and beans, canned foods, shelf-stable produce, and boxed items.
To help stock the Fridge, the volunteers host food drives in the ABCD parking lot in collaboration with Boston University’s Food Rescue Program.
“We do food drives here on Saturdays,” said Zayas. “That’s more seasonal, but for the most part, I would say six to seven months out of the year, we’re doing food drives to supplement what we’re getting to the fridge. We also get donations from both South Bay and Fields Corner Targets, and we recently partnered with the Roslindale Community Fridge and the Boston Food Hub.”
Having a full fridge and pantry became even more important when the Daily Table closed its Codman Square retail store in May.
“Dorchester is the biggest neighborhood in Boston,” said Zayas. “With the Daily Table closing, it is one less resource for people. I believe they provided a summer lunch program. With that being said, we’ve been seeing a lot of spillover here.”
Michelle Johnson, who works in the same lot as the Fridge at Total Care LLC, agreed that the operation may be more important now than ever, especially due to changes being made at the federal level.
“With the food insecurities that’s happening now, and especially a lot of cutbacks that’s happening with the social services, SNAP, and now Medicaid is going to be cut drastically; our elderly are already having a hard enough time trying to decide between food and medication,” she said.
“Having community programs like this allows them to be able to get the medication so that they can continue to be healthy.”
Johnson is worried about the younger folks in the community, too. “You wouldn’t believe how many kids go hungry. With schools being closed, there’s no breakfast, lunch, or after-school programs for them,” she noted.
Zayas said the Fridge is particularly helpful for immigrants who may be concerned about federal authorities.
“Since it’s open 24/7, there are no cameras here; we’re not monitoring the space in that sense,” he said. “People can kind of come and go with anonymity, and given everything that’s happening, with ICE in this state, I think that’s more important now than ever before.”
Even with that anonymity, residents can make the experience personal by writing item requests on a nearby whiteboard. Lately, Zayas has seen visitors ask for eggs, baby formula, meats, and fruits, and vegetables.
He added: “Anything that, you know, is extremely unaffordable for the majority of the families that we interact with are items that people are going to want to see here.”
Those who wish to get involved can drop off items at the site or donate via CashApp at $dotcommunityfridge or on PayPal at dot.communityfridge@gmail.com.
“We’re one of many Fridges trying to fill a void within our communities. We’re just one small group of local volunteers who are trying to help address that overarching issue,” said Zayas. “But like other entities in this space, we need support to be able to continue that and grow that.”
