Teachers open BX community fridge
Residents can take and donate healthy food options to fridge in Mott Haven
BY JASON COHEN
A pair of middle school
teachers teamed up to help
residents gain access to
healthy food options in the
south Bronx, an area of
the borough known for its
food deserts.
Daniel Zauderer and Charlotte
Alvarez, sixth grade
teachers at the American
Dream School in Mott Haven,
recently launched a community
refrigerator at the intersection
of 141st Street and
Saint Ann’s Avenue.
“Food insecurity is rampant
in the south Bronx, in
Mott Haven in particular,”
Zauderer said to the Bronx
Times. “People are hungry.”
Zauderer and Alvarez connected
with the Bronx Community
Foundation and Assembly
Candidate Amanda
Septimo and quickly the
community fridge came
into fruition.
The community refrigerator
is located outdoors and
provides community members
with 24-hour, no-questions
asked access to fresh
food, according to the founders.
The Mott Haven Fridge
operates with a “take what
you need, give what you can”
philosophy and is stocked
by a grassroots network of
community partners, maintained
by a team of local volunteers
and provided with ongoing
funding by the Bronx
Community Foundation.
Since they launched it
nearly a month ago, the pair
said that it has been a huge
success as residents constantly
take and replenish the
food supply. They shared that
one student’s mom is undergoing
chemotherapy and still
takes time to clean the fridge.
“You wouldn’t imagine
how quickly the food needs
to be stocked,” Zauderer commented.
“The community is
supportive of the fridge.”
He noted many people were
worried the refrigerator might
get stolen, similarly to the one
in Rockaway Beach, so eventually
residents chained it to
the store.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,2 OCTOBER 23-29, 2020 BTR
According to Zauderer, using
the community fridge is
easier than waiting on a long
line at a food pantry or fi lling
out forms for assistance. Also,
instead of simply receiving
food, a community fridge allows
those who use it to give
and take.
Zauderer stressed there
are no plans to take away
the fridge even after the
pandemic ends.
“Until they fi gure out how
to end hunger it will be here,”
he said. “The other thing is,
it helps people think about
food and access to food in a
new way.”
On Oct. 18, there was
a ribbon cutting for the
community fridge.
“This group is stepping in
to meet the immediate needs
for high quality, free, healthy
food while we work on the longterm
solutions to food insecurity
and we are doing so handin
hand with community,”
Septimo added. “I couldn’t be
more thrilled to see this effort
come together.”
Local artist Rocio Marie who painted the fridge.
Photos courtesy of Daniel Zauderer and Charlotte Alvarez
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