On a sidewalk, in a corner of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, there sits a fridge. It hums quietly—indicating it’s working, and not abandoned. The fridge is painted purple and sports a face with arched green eyebrows and a playful curl down its forehead. Beneath the face, a written message: “Free food for all! Take some, leave some, keep it clean!” Inside, on its shelves, is fresh produce, left there by caring neighbors, supportive passersby, or bought with donations made to Playground Coffee Shop, a community-minded cafe run by Zenat Begum. Everything inside the fridge is free.
In a little over a week, Begum and her team of Playground employees, volunteers, and friends have set up almost 10 such fridges across Brooklyn—the majority in Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and Sunset Park. The premise is simple: functioning fridges, usually sourced through Craigslist, filled with fresh fruits and vegetables for the taking. “We’re only encouraging people to give fresh produce because that’s what the war is on,” Begum tells me over the phone. Most of the fridges are also set up near local independent businesses, in the hopes that they’ll also receive some of the attention the fridges attract. “We’re using our own sidewalks to do this because that’s where the people are at.”
from Food52 https://ift.tt/2B34nHk
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