CHURCHTON, Md. – “Take what you want. Leave what you can.” That’s the motto of the new community fridge opening up this Saturday in Churchton, Maryland.
Blue Crab Community Fridges is a non-profit organization that poured a lot of work into making this a reality. The goal is to help fight food insecurity, reduce food waste, and build a stronger community.
Emily Rasp says a close friend would donate to a community fridge in Baltimore and she thought it would be great to have one in South County, especially after seeing the long lines at the food pantry at the Franklin United Methodist Church.
“It breaks my heart to see how many people in our community are struggling with food insecurity and knowing fresh food is going to waste when we could be filling bellies. I recently had a baby and couldn’t stomach the thought of a child going hungry when I have the means to give back to my community and the opportunity to set an example for my son.”
Emily and her wife regularly donated large quantities of food to the SCAN food pantry and wanted to do even more. So in March, she shared the idea with the South County community on social media. Several people showed interest, so she started the paperwork process and began searching for a place to host it.
“I was fortunate enough to cross paths with the kind folks at Franklin United Methodist Church who offered to host the fridge and cover the cost of electricity. The food pantry they run, plus the resource of the community fridge goes hand in hand quite well.”
Emily’s friends built the shed the fridge sits under and others in the community stepped in to help. Emily says she is thankful to her friends, family, and the entire South County community for all the love and support.
“It warms my heart to see people helping people. I am proud that I was able to start this idea but it is this community that will keep it running and allow it to be successful.”
The fridge is open to everyone in the community and will be open 24/7. They are asking for volunteers to help clean and check the fridge on a regular basis. They’re also asking for donations of food and/or money to keep the fridge stocked.
The grand opening for the community fridge is Saturday, May 11th from 1-3 pm at Franklin United Methodist Church at 5345 Deale Churchton Road in Churchton.
They’re encouraging people to stop by and leave their mark by creating magnets for the fridge. There will also be free cupcakes made by Netflix’s “Is It Cake?” baker, Caitlin Taylor, and snacks donated by AZTC and 100 Lots.
To learn more about the community fridge, check out their website.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com