Dwight Community Fridge
OUR MISSION:
Through partnership, Dwight Community Fridge provides free, healthy, accessible food to our community.
The Dwight Community Fridge is a community fridge operated by the YMCA and volunteer Yale students. Located at 50 Howe St, it is housed within the New Haven YMCA Youth Center. It is designed as a “take what you need, leave what you can” program.
Community fridges act as a grassroots response to the food insecurity crisis. They are especially critical in neighborhoods where traditional forms of food assistance are difficult to access. For instance, individuals without cars are often unable to reach food bank locations. The fridges, sometimes called "freedges", are a type of mutual aid project that enables food to be shared within a community. The goal is to reduce food insecurity by providing free, direct access to nutritious food made possible through community partnerships, local food stores and restaurants, along with Yale University students and farms. On any given day, the fridge is full with items including fresh produce, prepared meals, bottles of water, milk, frozen foods, bakery items, eggs, bread, grab and go snacks, cereal and more! Food is provided by community members, restaurants, local chefs, urban farmers, grocers and food pantries.
Learn more at the Fridge’s Instagram page.
Maintained by students, volunteers, and the YMCA, the Dwight Community Fridge works in collaboration with local businesses and partners such as House of Naan, the Urban Resources Initiative, Witch Bitch Thrift, East Rock Breads, the Yale Farm, and more to stock the fridge with fresh, healthy food made accessible to the local community.
Details:
Take what you need, give what you can
The community fridge project happily accepts donations of prepackaged, prepared meals, fresh produce, dairy, non-perishables, snacks, and more. It is available to the community daily based on the schedule below. All food is free for all.
When: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-8:00pm / Saturday & Sunday, 10:00am-7:00pm
Where: New Haven YMCA Youth Center, 50 Howe Street, New Haven
How: Donation of items can be made Monday- Friday, 7:30am-5:30pm at the New Haven YMCA Youth Center
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
Sign up to help maintain and stock the fridge and develop partnerships.
To learn about opportunitites to volunteer and how to join, email the Project heads or fill out this form.
Project heads: Anabel Schweitzer (anabel.schweitzer@yale.edu) & Savannah Kandigian (savannah.kandigian@yale.edu)
