BALTIMORE — It's an exciting day for Nikki Smith. A small group has gathered outside her business, Journey Mental Health and Wellness along Pennsylvania Avenue in West Baltimore, for the unveiling of her new fridge and pantry.
It's not set up inside her business. The fridge and pantry sit outside on the sidewalk, filled with food ready for the taking. Its part of growing network of community fridges in Baltimore.
"This community holds something personal for me," she said. "Especially with summer approaching, we'll be able to stock stuff for kids who walk by. You take whatever you need and you can leave whatever you can."
That's the concept behind the community fridge. Donors drop off food and anyone can take what they need, no questions asked.
"As an educator I would say its set up like an eco-system," said Elizabeth Miller.
By day, Miller is a teacher with Baltimore County Public Schools. She and several other women recently started what's called the Bmore Community Fridge Network (BCFN). Miller said they wanted to better organize the movement behind the fridges, making the information more accessible while also growing it.
"We have all had help getting to where we are so it's really important to give back," she said.
Right now there are six refrigerators and four pantries listed on BCFN's map. Some are monitored by private residents, others are maintained by businesses like Journey Mental Health and Wellness.
Donors are asked to label and date meals they make, including any possible allergens.
One of the community fridges is located on the campus of Loyola University, at York Road and Notre Dame Lane. It was started in partnership with the non-profit Calming Leaf Foundation.
"We believe it's an important pillar of food justice because it reduces food waste and repurposes it into 24/7 accessible food to people that may need it," said Jerrod Ridgeway, founder of Calming Leaf.
The foundation put out a study about the impact of community fridges in Baltimore. Ridgeway said one of the takeaways was the public misperception about who is utilizing the fridges.
"I think there is a potential stigma around it where its not related to just charity or people may not know how it works so they don't have a buy-in to the system," he said.
Miller echoed that sentiment, saying people have an idea of what food insecurity looks like. She said they want to change the perception of the fridges to neighbors helping neighbors.
"Its people coming by, dropping things off, a quick conversation," she said. "It looks like a neighborhood, it looks like a community having conversation, it looks like new people forging relationships and bonds and building a network."
Other concerns brought up in the study were about food safety and possible legal issues, such as liability for foodborne illnesses. It highlighted the need for volunteers and organizations to maintain and operate the fridges, with the possibility of creating jobs to limit these risks.
"We believe that with a full, expanded network you can pay people to take care of it, pay people to manage the logistics, pay people to manage the marketing and promotion, just like any other food distribution, pantry or kitchen," said Ridgeway.
For now, the fridges are run by the pure heart and dedication of volunteers like Smith.
"Hopefully other businesses here will follow [our] lead and start giving back to the community," she said. "Because the community is only as strong as we are."
