It’s becoming more common to see a running refrigerator in a public park or church parking lot. “Community fridges” have been a hunger-fighting trend around the world, and Wisconsin organizers have followed suit as a means to offer free, fresh produce to anyone in the area in need.
This comes as grocery prices are continuing to rise. The latest Consumer Price Index found grocery prices in the Midwest are up 3 percent compared to last year. And President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed this summer will cut roughly $88 billion from federal food stamp programs over the next 10 years, according to the National Grocers Association.
Community fridges are regular refrigerators typically placed outside in some kind of shelter. They run all year, allowing people to “take what you need and give what you can” to keep the fridge stocked, according to Kelsey Lutzow, co-founder of The Fridge in Green Bay.
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
Lutzow said community fridges also help reduce food waste and help build a sense of community among residents.
“It’s just a really good way for neighbors to look after each other, especially in hard times,” Lutzow recently told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
While traditional food pantries often focus more on nonperishable types of food, Lutzow said community fridges have the opportunity to provide things like dairy and fresh vegetables and fruit.
The Fridge has two locations in Green Bay, the first opened just two years ago in Joannes Park.
TJ Hobbs is a co-founder for Hope Fridge with locations in Oshkosh and Menasha. Hobbs told “Wisconsin Today” that volunteers help stock and maintain the fridges, and that they ask members of the community who see the fridge to clean it up when needed and toss any spoiled food.
“But honestly, food rarely gets thrown away at our fridges because, sadly, the need is so great,” Hobbs said. “We’re getting food redistributed into communities multiple times a day. We have anywhere from dozens to hundreds of visitors per day in each fridge.”
“If you can imagine how quickly that food that’s going in there, it’s sometimes gone in 5 minutes, sometimes it’s gone in a few hours,” Hobbs said.
Lutzow echoed that, saying, “The everyday dollar and SNAP benefits just aren’t stretching as far as they used to, and it’s tough.”
“For families that are right in that point of living paycheck to paycheck, it’s just needing a little bit of extra help to make those ends meet,” he added.
Hobbs and Hope Fridge have plans to open another location in Appleton. They said the main challenge for managing additional locations is not receiving enough food donations, but finding sufficient volunteers to stock and maintain the refrigerators.
Hobbs said they’re planning to release an e-booklet with advice on how people can set up their own community fridges. The plans Hope Fridge used for its fridge storage containers, or shelters, are available on its website.
“We would love to be that (resource) for other local community leaders who are just coming up in their own communities to help them start their own fridges,” Hobbs said. “Don’t wait for us to come to you. You make it happen for your community.”
