The Friendly Fridge is located at 4670 Manhattan College Pkwy. and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Photo courtesy of BXEDC
The Friendly Fridge Foundation is a Riverdale-based organization that provides free food to people suffering from food insecurity.
The organization was founded about four years ago by Selma Raven and Sara Allen, and since then it has been trying to bridge the gap between food waste and food insecurity. Instead of throwing so much food away, they want it to end up on the plates of Bronx residents who can’t afford it. This mission exemplifies Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson’s vision for an overall better borough.
The Friendly Fridge Foundation revolves around a refrigerator located at 4670 Manhattan College Pkwy. near Van Cortlandt Park. The refrigerator is open to the public at all times and donations can be made there. In fact, Manhattan College students and other local residents often drop off food they don’t need. In addition, food deliveries that would otherwise have gone to waste are brought directly to the refrigerator to ensure necessary supplies are available.
On a hot day in early August, I saw what their shipping days are like. In the brutal heat, people stood in line on the avenue for hours before the delivery was scheduled to take place. The foundation’s volunteers set up a water station and worked to organize all the food to make the food pickup process as smooth as possible. Additionally, personal information is never requested about the people picking up the food, so The Friendly Fridge is truly a judgment-free zone.
Making it a community effort and coordinating food deliveries directly to the fridge, ensuring everyone gets something to eat, is heartwarming and genius. Raven and Allen have developed a business-like approach to amplifying the good deeds that are done every day in the Bronx.
The Friendly Fridge Foundation can use your help. Every food item you donate can support their mission. A donation of just $25 can cover the transportation costs of over 1,000 pounds of food that would otherwise be thrown away.
You can donate food to the fridge at any time or visit www.friendlyfridgefoundation.org to make a monetary donation.
Jilleen Barrett is the communications and marketing director for the Bronx Economic Development Corporation.
