Friendly Fridges
Kaitlyn Rush, our Parish Chef, had an idea, and now it is coming to fruition. A few months ago, she asked whether it would be possible for St. Paul’s to add a refrigerator to our Little Free Pantry. Having seen how important the pantry is to those who are experiencing food insecurity, she wanted to expand our offerings to include perishable items that require refrigeration. All we really needed was a refrigerator, which she was willing to donate, and the space and electricity, which our church is happy to provide, and, as of yesterday, Friendly Fridges of Fayetteville is up and running.
Her vision, however, does not stop there. Kaitlyn is working with some restaurants and other food suppliers to establish other Friendly Fridges around town. With the right partners, we could place refrigerators in highly trafficked areas near community centers, laundromats, popular bus stops, the library, or even in our local schools. The success of the Little Free Pantries is, in part, due to their widespread availability. Even though we may not realize it, people who experience food insecurity live in every part of town, just like the people who have the power to defeat food insecurity—you and me.
A few weeks ago, a woman came and knocked on the Welcome Center door. She was looking for food, but we had already given out all of our Community Meals that day. I encouraged her to check the Little Free Pantry and to come back the next time we served lunch. She held out to me a pouch of seasoned pasta mix that she had taken out of the pantry and asked if I would help her open it. I gently explained that she would need some hot water to prepare the dish, but she shook her head. “I’ll eat it just like this,” she said, prepared to crunch the raw pasta between her teeth. That is hunger, and it is thriving in our community.
There are hungry people all around us, and they often need fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, lunch meat, and other proteins. Not every meal can come from a box or a can. In our pantry, we regularly share boxes of Hamburger Helper, but we have not been able to provide the hamburger meat that goes with it. Now, that will change. Sometimes, I see several milk cartons on the sidewalk below the Little Free Pantry, and I wonder how long they have been there, in the sun, waiting to spoil. They always disappear before too long, but now they won’t have to. Everyone I know enjoys an occasional serving of ice cream or a popsicle. Why shouldn’t everyone get a popsicle every once in a while?
Like the Little Free Pantry, the success of the Friendly Fridge will depend on you. A radically decentralized ministry, this approach to distributing food is sustained purely by those who stop and share what they have. We do not stockpile supplies at the church to make sure that the pantry stays full. Sometimes, the pantry shelves are bare. Eventually, though, they fill up again. The same will be true for the fridge. Who will throw away past-date items? Who will clean it out? Who will organize the items within it? You will. And I will. And so will others. That is how this ministry works and why it works so well. This ministry belongs to all of us. Together, we are all responsible for ending hunger.
At the end of Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus used the image of the Last Judgment to teach his followers what it means to be one of his disciples: “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” Jesus explained that, when we provide for those in need, we are ministering not only to other people but directly to him. What it means to love Jesus, therefore, is to love others. Feeding people who are hungry is not just something we do. It is who we are.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan