Germantown Community Fridge organizers are celebrating the initiative’s fifth birthday this month with a food drive. They will also close out the occasion with a giveaway and concert on Sept. 28.
Founded five years ago to fight food insecurity in Germantown, the Fridge’s two locations offer 24/7 public access to food. In collaboration with High Point Cafe in Mt. Airy, the Fridge is collecting nonperishable food donations through Sept. 28, which will be distributed at the Fridge’s Armat Street location.
In years past, the Fridge’s birthday celebrations have distributed upwards of $5,000 worth of food in a day. Volunteer Shannon Sims said, “We set up tables in front of our first fridge on Armat Street and we give away everything we accept at our fridge in bulk.” This year’s Sept. 28 celebration will be capped by a benefit concert later in the evening. IMPeRFeCT Gallery will host the concert featuring Philadelphia-based artists at Greene Street Friends School’s Tree Lab. Proceeds will go to the Fridge.
Most of the year, the Fridge struggles to stay full, Sims said. And yet, according to Philabundance, a nonprofit food bank, in 2022, Philadelphia’s food insecurity rate in Philadelphia was 15.2%. Usually, she said, “We have volunteers unloading stuff and people are there waiting.”
In the past couple of years, Sims noticed an uptick not only in food insecurity, but also its mental health impacts. She commented, “Anxiety about being food insecure has definitely heightened.”
Organizations such as High Point Cafe are aiding in the Fridge’s celebration to support the fight against food insecurity. The cafe, which has two locations, has been a partner since the Fridge’s founding. It started by donating leftover pastries. Now, the two organizations regularly collaborate on food drives. Meg Hagele, the cafe’s owner, said she feels it’s important to give back: “It shouldn’t always have to be about the bare necessities.”
For the ongoing drive, the Fridge has no specific donation goals, though Sims said she hopes to collect as much food as possible. Though the food drive will end on Sept. 28, Hagele adds, “We are more than happy to pass [donations after that date] along. It doesn’t have to end just because they had their fifth birthday.”
Germantown Community Fridge Fifth Birthday Celebration, 20 W. Armat Street. Food distribution, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The concert is scheduled for 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m. For information and concert tickets, visit germantowncommunityfridge.com or on Instagram, @germantownfridge.
