All four of Evanston Community Fridges’ refrigerators were empty on Dec. 19, though two had been restocked just three days earlier. 

Anna Grant-Bolton, Evanston Community Fridges’ outreach organizer, said the fridges have all since been filled — but still, they empty out from time to time. 

“It’s indicative that there’s a lot of folks who need food in the community,” she said. “That should be a message to all Evanston community members to step up and make sure that we’re supplying that food.” 

Eight Evanston Community Fridges organizing members have been actively running the fridges since co-founders Maggie Quinn and Maia Robinson stepped down in October.

Fridge managers — members of the organizing team each responsible for one of the four fridges — clean their assigned fridge and remove expired or unlabelled items. 

In addition to the central team, over 20 people help out in various capacities such as stocking the fridges and donating funds. 

Evanston Community Fridges has also been collaborating with the Evanston Nouveau Rotary Club since September. Members of this club donate food, arrange food drives and conduct monthly deep cleanings of the fridges.

Deshana Newman, an organizing team member, said the organization hosted its first Thanksgiving food drive back in November. The fridges saw an assortment of Thanksgiving staple foods like turkey, green beans and mashed potatoes as community members donated and helped distribute dinner boxes for the holiday.

“(This initiative was) just phenomenal and extraordinary and a testament to the giving hearts of people that live in the Evanston community,” Newman said. 

The fridges saw an uptick in donations during the winter holidays, according to Carrie Jackson, the manager of the Sunrise Fridge, as Evanston residents dropped off holiday-themed dinner boxes the following month.

She said she thinks the holidays remind people of the importance of putting food on the table.

“We've heard from many, many members who have all this leftover food, and they are now thinking that they can bring it somewhere else instead of just letting it go to waste,” Jackson said. 

At the same time, Newman said community demand is still outnumbering the fridge supplies, with donations often stocking fridges for one hour or less. 

Organizers also encouraged more residents to participate in maintaining the fridges. Beyond donations, Grant-Bolton said people can go on grocery runs to supply the fridges — and get reimbursed through donation money.

As the holiday season comes to an end, Jackson said she hopes community members stay committed to keeping the fridges stocked.

“The need is always there,” Jackson said. “It's not a seasonal thing. There are people in the community who need these resources on a daily basis.”

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Twitter: @joyycee.li

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