Nonprofit wants to set up community fridge with free food in Central Mass. town
A Holden non-profit wants to establish a community refrigerator in town, similar to the ones in the city of Worcester.
The non-profit behind the idea is 4Others Inc., an organization that primarily distributes donated hygiene products but also donates food and clothing. 4Others Inc.'s founder, former Leicester Police Chief James J. Hurley, told MassLive a community meeting about the proposed fridge will be held April 21 at St. Mary's Church in Jefferson, a village in Holden.
The first steps are to figure out where the fridge will be located and what kind of shelter will be built alongside it, according to Hurley. He said the shelter by the fridge will have hygiene products and essential clothing, such as hats, gloves and blankets during the winter seasons. The fridge will be refilled by members of 4Others Inc. and costs could range between $4,000 to $10,000, according to Hurley.
"Everybody is feeling the financial pinch right now," Hurley said. "There are these individuals that need more food."
The inspiration for creating a community fridge in Holden comes from the WooFridge project, according to Hurley.
WooFridge is a mutual aid project aimed at fighting food insecurity. The project features four community fridges in the City of Worcester, located at 16 Brooks St., 44 Portland St., 42 South St. and 695 Southbridge St. respectively. 4Others Inc. often delivers food donations to the fridges, said Hurley. He said the fridges are used frequently, underscoring people's need to get food in an accessible manner.
We were driving around and doing the refrigerators in Worcester, we'll drop off the product on a Thursday afternoon and then we'll be back there on Saturday morning and it's gone," he said. "We'll fill the refrigerator with stuff and it's empty."
In addition to Worcester, other Central Massachusetts communities such as Paxton and Shrewsbury have community fridges, according to Hurley.
While Holden does have a food pantry, the Wachusett Regional Food Pantry, it only does food distributions on the third Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., according to its website .
Hurley says he wants to close what he describes as a gap in food insecurity — giving people access to food at different times throughout the day.
"And that doesn't mean it's just for Holden residents," he said. "It's open to anyone. And it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
The community meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Mary's Church at 114 Princeton St. in Jefferson.
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