From left, eighth-graders Lucas Martinez, Addalie Burns and Mia Bumpus on March 12 celebrated the opening of their Madd Love Community Fridge at Habitat for Humanity in Marysville. Its purpose is to provide fresh healthy produce and perishable items to residents in need.

 

YUBA-SUTTER, CA (MPG) - Many are familiar with the concept of a “free little library,” a community model based on mutual aid and sharing. Here, individuals can take a free book they like or donate one they no longer need.

These same principles are now being applied to fridges and freezers across the globe, a phenomenon known as the “community fridge.”

“I was on a trip to New York City and saw a bunch of community fridges just throughout the neighborhoods and then I thought, ‘My community could really benefit from a community fridge,’” said Addalie Burns, an eighth-grader at Faith Christian School of Yuba City. “Later, I asked my friend, Mia, if she wanted to start a community fridge with me and she said ‘of course!’”

Mia Bumpus is another eighth-grader who attends Franklin Elementary School in Sutter County. The two girls met after their younger sisters became friends and their mothers bonded over mutual health concerns.

“I have type one diabetes and Mia’s younger sister was diagnosed with type one diabetes and so her mom came to my mom asking if she could help her out with it,” Addalie explained. “Mia is the same age as me and both our younger sisters are the same age, so we knew we all needed to meet.”

The two girls approached Blue Zones Project Yuba Sutter, which soon formulated a series of meetings with like-minded leaders and organizations such as the Yuba-Sutter Food Bank, Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity.

“It was about a year ago that we started,” said Blue Zones Project Yuba Sutter executive director Marni Sanders. “This is a first in the Yuba-Sutter community and people had a lot of questions on the logistics.”

According to Sanders and Habitat for Humanity Yuba Sutter Chief Operating Officer John Nicoletti, concerns were primarily focused on location, cleanliness, potential for vandalism and energy costs.

“People weren’t too keen on having these in a back yard or a street and attracting unwanted company, and they didn’t want anyone getting sick from spoiled food or having liability for that,” said Nicoletti. “So we decided to put it here in the lobby as a type of Good Samaritan act.”

The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protect food donors, including those involved with community pantries or fridges, from liability for illnesses resulting from donated food, provided the food was donated in “good faith” with safe handling procedures.

Eighth-grader Lucas Martinez is credited with painting this newly-implemented community fridge, now located in the Habitat for Humanity lobby in Marysville. A ribbon cutting on March 12 celebrated this fridge, a first of its kind in Yuba-Sutter, a project aimed at keeping fresh produce and perishable items available to those in need. 

In addition to these protections, Burns and Bumpus established the Madd Love Community Fridge sponsorship initiative which encourages local businesses, clubs and organizations to care for the fridge on a monthly basis. Responsibilities would include stocking the fridge with approved items, paying an $8 fee for electrical costs, and ensuring it stays clean and that food is rotated out, based on expiration dates.

“I definitely can see that there’s many people around here that could benefit from this,” said Bumpus. “It feels so great that I'm able to make a difference in our community and leave an impact on people’s lives.” 

The Madd Love Community Fridge is brightly colored with smiling fruits and veggies painted on the outside. Lucas Martinez, another eighth-grade student from Faith Christian School, volunteered his time and talents to paint the fridge, drawing inspiration from other similar projects online.

“I was just looking at community fridges one day on the internet. I saw they were really colorful so I kind of based it on that,” said Martinez.

A ribbon cutting for the Madd Love Community Fridge was held on March 12 at Habitat for Humanity, 202 D St., Marysville. In honor of this event, the students’ parents stocked it full of fresh produce and healthy frozen meals.

“As long as Habitat is open, anyone can come in and grab food that they may need or donate items,” said Cristina Espinoza, organization lead for Blue Zones Project Yuba Sutter. “Agencies are going to sponsor it on a monthly basis but anybody can donate food and the goal is to have lots of healthy items.”

For more information about Madd Love Community Fridge or to inquire about sponsorship, contact [email protected] or [email protected].