Chicago-Englewood Fridge

Community Fridges are communal places where surplus food is shared with the local community by local businesses and individuals. So far, they've helped thousands of people connect to their communities, access nutritious food, save money and reduce waste. They are a proven way of stopping good food from winding up in the trash. Surplus food is provided by local businesses or members of the public, and is then available for collection by people who need it. Community Fridges are housed in accessible public spaces, making surplus perishable food freely available to all community members. Community Fridges work on the honor system.

Over 3 months, one Community Fridge can:

Redistribute 12 tons of food waste,
Save households and community groups over $10,000 worth of food
Provide local employment opportunities.

Community Fridges are also known as Solidarity Fridges and Honesty Fridges. They have been successfully introduced in Spain, Germany, the UK, and Ireland, and are starting to take hold in the U.S. Each fridge operates in different ways depending on local circumstances. Demand for Community Fridges has been growing very quickly and Hubbub, based in London has recently launched The Community Fridge Network to support new Fridges and build a supportive, collaborative network of people to share resources and experiences. For US fridges, they will help to navigate local laws around health and safety and provide you with as much knowledge and information as possible to help get your Fridge off the ground.

Find out exactly what's involved in our 5 Step Guide.

Over 3 months, one Community Fridge can:

Redistribute 12 tons of food waste,
Save households and community groups over $10,000 worth of food
Provide local employment opportunities.

Find out exactly what's involved in our 5 Step Guide.

Ann Ryan joined Chicago-Englewood Fridge a Community Fridge group about 2 months ago

Michael Lubanski joined Chicago-Englewood Fridge a Community Fridge group about 1 year ago

Edward Clark

almost 2 years ago

Our partner, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Rho Gamma Gamma Chapter, Chicago IL. monthly "Pop-Up" Food Pantry (our main food supplier) was held at the St. Martin 's Episcopal Church (West side of Chicago) for the month of October 2022. One of the objectives of the food pantry is to feed not only the Chicago Englewood area, but to touch as much of the Chicagoland area as possible.

Again, this month we were able to feed 450 plus families via this endeavor on the West Side of Chicago. Another Chicagoland community has been touched by our "pop-up" pantry!

The team always welcomes assistance in the unloading and the distribution of the food. This month the Michele Clark Academic Prep High School Basketball team assisted the food pantry team. We Thank you all for you assistance!
Lastly, we were able to re-stock the Good Hope Pantry for our weekly distribution.

Edward Clark

almost 2 years ago

The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team has been in progress since early May 2022. Henry Beaty and team has been quite excited to extend it’s monthly Omega Psi Phi, Fraternities, Rho Gamma Gamma’s “Pop-up” food pantry distribution to needy people across the Chicagoland area (and most recently at Good Hope) and the establishment of one of two planned food pantry locations.

The first is located outside the Good Hope Foundation facility and the second planned to be outside the Omega Psi Phi, Rho Gamma Gamma facility. Both locations are in areas that are food desserts and free food distribution is much needed.

The team has continued to meet the planned monthly food distributions across the Chicagoland area and weekly at the Good Hope Facility, where we have a free standing shed, often opened daily including food and vegetables (in conjunction with the farmer’s market) available each Thursday afternoon.

The team also has plans in the works to procure a pantry refrigerator to enable the distribution of perishable food items consistently.

Below is an update on the checklist issued to Change X in early May, 2022:

The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team has created the following checklist that the team will began to execute in early May 2022.

The checklist was as follows: (pictures previously posted on the site to support accomplishments/impact statements).

• The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team is formed (Henry Beaty (Lead), Katelyn Futel, Christopher Clair, Charisse & Edward Clark)

• Select potential freestanding pantry locations (i.e., Good Hope Foundation & Omega Psi Phi, Rho Gamma Gamma facility, potentially more to follow) – Good Hope Foundation shed procured and put in place August 4, 2022

• Ideate on either building or buying weather resistant free standing food pantries – decision made to buy and procure pantry refrigerator at a later date

• Identify “Partners” to assist with food collection and distribution (i.e., Chicago Farmers Market, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Good Hope Foundation, the Midwest Food Bank, etc. [All aforementioned partnerships are in place]

• Establish a location to store the food (i.e., Good Hope Foundation facility) – Indoor pantry at Good Hope cleaned, new floor installed, painting completed and lighting put in place

• Identify additional resources to assist with the endeavor - additional team members added (i.e., Cameron Clark, Melvin Moore, Mary Clark & Alice Beale)

• Establish a food replenishment schedule – Chicago Food Depository pickup on first Monday of each month, Farmer’s market vegetable pick-up each Thursday

• Establish a food distribution schedule – Good Hope Food Pantry opened each Thursday afternoon, but often daily, per resource availability

• Establish a food monitoring/safety check schedule - Completed daily (surveillance cameras in place & shed chain locked)

• Communicate grand opening of food pantry (i.e., August 4, 2022) via, neighborhood flyer distribution, social media, local Chicago Alderman’s office, etc. - Completed August 4, 2022

• Set up a facility to receive food or financial donations as the Pantry will allow for individuals to take what is needed and donate what they can (either food, or donations) – Completed August 4, 2022

• Other items as necessary – Partnered with Englewood community organization to distribute food and 80 backpacks for children going back to school on August 12, 2022

The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team is passionate about feeding the hungry in the Chicago Englewood and Morgan Park communities at this time and we expect to expand food distribution based on food availability even further in the future, based on our successful trials at Good Hope. – Our plan is well underway!

The Chicago Englewood Pantry’s goal is to assist in addressing food insecurity in the two previously mentioned undeserved communities in Chicago Englewood and throughout Chicagoland. Our goal at the onset, was to serve 100-300 households and individuals a month.

As of September 15, 2022 , the team , with the support of Change X , Microsoft, Good Hope Foundation, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Rho Gamma Gamma Chapter) the Good Hope Foundation Food Pantry Team has exceeded the original goal with the following accomplishments, highlighted previously and has had the following impact on the Chicago Englewood Community:

Monthly “Pop-up” Food Pantry Distribution across Chicagoland including Good Hope (Sept. & Nov. 2022)

* Household and Individuals served (June – November, 2022) – 3, 672
Good Hope Food Pantry Distribution (commenced August 4, 2022 – November 02,
2022)

* Households and individuals served (daily/weekly, August – mid-September, 2022) –
848

Henry Beaty, Team Lead

Edward Clark

over 2 years ago

The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team is quite excited to extend it’s monthly Onega Psi Phi, Fraternities, Rho Gamma Gamma’s “Pop-up” food pantry distribution to needy people across the Chicagoland area to at least two free standing food pantry locations. There will be potentially additional locations in the future. The first will be located outside the Good Hope Foundation facility and the second outside the Omega Psi Phi, Rho Gamma Gamma facility. Both locations are in areas that are food desserts and free food distribution would be quite welcome.

The team has met on several occasions and has already begun the process of distribution of free food on the front steps of the Good Hope Facility. We have the food now and we want to start making an immediate impact. The team’s next step is to decide whether to build or buy a sturdy food pantry that can withstand the ever-changing weather of Chicago for proper and safe distribution of free food.

The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team has created the following checklist that the team will has already began to execute. The checklist is as follows:
• The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team is formed (Henry Beaty (Lead), Katelyn Futel, Christopher Clair, Charisse & Edward Clark)
• Select potential freestanding pantry locations (i.e., Good Hope Foundation & Omega Psi Phi, Rho Gamma Gamma facility, potentially more to follow)
• Ideate on either building or buying weather resistant free standing food pantries
• Identify “Partners” to assist with food collection and distribution (i.e., Chicago Farmers Market, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Good Hope Foundation, the Midwest Food Bank, etc.
• Establish a location to store the food (i.e., Good Hope Foundation facility)
• Identify additional resources to assist with the endeavor
• Establish a food replenishment schedule
• Establish a food distribution schedule
• Establish a food monitoring/safety check schedule
• Communicate grand opening of food pantry (date TBD) via, neighborhood flyer distribution, social media, GoodHopefnd.com website update, local Chicago Alderman’s office, etc.
• Set up a facility to receive food or financial donations as the Pantry will allow for individuals to take what is needed and donate what they can (either food, or donations)
• Other items as necessary
The Chicago Englewood Fridge (a.k.a., Pantry) Team is passionate about feeding the hungry in the Chicago Englewood and Morgan Park communities to start and we expect to expand even further in the future, after successful trials at the two previously mentioned locations.

The Chicago Englewood Pantry’s goal is to assist in addressing food insecurity in the two previously mentioned under-served areas in Chicago and further. Our goal at the onset, is to serve 100-300 households a month. The team can’t wait to get started. We appreciate the support of Change X , Microsoft, Good Hope Foundation, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Rho Gamma Gamma Chapter) for providing the seed funding for this worthwhile endeavor.

Henry Beaty, Team Lead

Edward Clark

almost 2 years ago

Once again, our partner, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Rho Gamma Gamma Chapter, Chicago IL. monthly "Pop-Up" Food Pantry (our main food supplier) was held at Good Hope Foundation (Chicago-Englewood area) for the month of November. Once again we were able to feed 450 plus families via this endeavor in the Chicago Englewood Community.

A quote from a food pantry recipient was as follows: "You all are so kind to distribute food to people like us in need, we really appreciate it. When will you all being distributing food again?"

Pop up food pantry Nov 1.pdf

Edward Clark

about 2 years ago

Our partner, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Rho Gamma Gamma Chapter's, Chicago IL. monthly "Pop-Up" Food Pantry (our main food supplier) will be held at the Good Hope M.B. Church this month. As an aside, this pantry rotates across the Chicagoland area monthly! This is the home site of the Chicago-Englewood Pantry, which allows us to reach 300-400 people in the Chicago-Englewood community on Tuesday August 30, 2022.