Des Moines Public Library seeks to fill in hunger gaps with new community fridges
The Des Moines Public Library opened two new community fridges just in time for the holiday season, and library staff said food quickly flew off the shelves.
"Most of the refrigerated items have been gone in three days," said Nikki Hayter, manager of the Franklin Avenue Library. The library opened its community fridge on Dec. 5, Hayter said, soon after a fridge opened at the South Side Library at 1111 SW Porter Ave.
Since the opening, Hayter said community members have pitched in to keep the shelves stocked with goods, from eggs and meat to yogurt, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables. Des Moines Public Library Director Sue Woody said the needs have been impacted by what she described as "blockade of food" caused by the dispute between Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council's network of pantries.
"Being this free and open public space ... it positions us in an interesting way to be able to be that place for people to come. People are already coming to the library for various reasons, so this is one more service that we can provide," she said.
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The idea to start a community fridge in the library started with an email Hayter received from a board member of Eat Greater Des Moines, a local nonprofit focused on eliminating food waste in the metro area. After initial talks, Hayter applied for a ChangeX grant from Microsoft and soon had the funds to purchase a refrigerator and some initial groceries. She said the fridge helps the library do what it can as pantries in the metro face record need for food assistance from families struggling to make ends meet.
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"In no way is it our mission to solve food insecurity," Hayter said. "We’re just kind of a piece in that. We are able to have space in our building that is relatively anonymous where people can come and take what they need without us having to intervene."
A posting on the ChangeX fundraising site in late December said the library's fridge, at 5000 Franklin Ave. by the east entrance, had been opened more than 80 times since it was operational and food rarely stays on shelves for more than 24 hours "indicating a high need for this service to our community."
Community fridges provide food to anyone in need
The Des Moines Public Library is not the only public institution to organize community refrigerators. Monika Owczarski, the founder of the urban Sweet Tooth Farm and a community fridge in the River Bend neighborhood, said she has helped set up 30 community fridges across Iowa, 18 of which are located in libraries, hotels and apartment complexes in Polk County.
She said fridges, like the one in River Bend at 1618 6th Ave. in the parking lot of Home Inc., provide emergency assistance to families who often are left out of traditional ways to obtain food to meet needs.
“I see parents who are working and they are still poor. And they don’t qualify for food stamps and they can’t go to the food bank, but they still can’t feed their families," Owczarski said.
Community fridges, like the one at the Franklin Library, do not require visitors to check-in or prove need to access the fridge's supplies. Six fridges in Iowa currently track use using Raspberry pi devices, small switchboards programmed to show how often they're opened, according to Eat Greater Des Moines Director Aubrey Alvarez.
Across Iowa, the fridges are opened approximately 15 times per day. The most-used fridge, at Community Youth Concepts at 1446 Martin Luther King Drive in Des Moines, is opened approximately 25 times per day, data Alvarez provided shows.
While leaders working to fill gaps that cause food insecurity have debated on the importance of proving "need," many argue providing a free and accessible space, like a community refrigerator, reduces the stigma around food assistance and provides for families who may fall through the cracks.
"It's a really dynamic and easy way to fill in that gap," Owczarski said. "I don’t believe in any capacity that community refrigerators are a solution. Some days it feels like a bandage on an amputated leg. But if we're not willing to innovate and try new things when people are still hungry and what we are doing isn't working, then I don’t think we will ever get anywhere."
2021 controversy changed community refrigerator system for the better, leaders say
Despite good intentions, community fridges have been the subject of some controversy in the metro area. In 2021, operators of several community fridges set up in residents' yards faced thousands in fines for violating city zoning ordinances.
Since then, fridge organizers have prioritized "co-locating" with community partners, such as libraries and nonprofits, who can work to maintain them, Alvarez, of Eat Greater Des Moines, said. It's a solution that "actually works better for everybody", Alvarez said, because it helps organizers establish fridges in places with the most need while also ensuring the proper community infrastructure is in place to set them up for success.
"We're not forcing fridges on anyone. The only way it's maintained is the community really owning it. And that's really what's been exciting to see," she said.
Food Bank of Iowa does not work with community refrigerators because "they aren't held to the same regulations and distribution standards we're required to follow," the organization's spokesperson Annette Hacker wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register.
But Hacker said the fridges do serve an important role in helping to feed people and reduce food waste.
"Community refrigerators are well intentioned, grassroots efforts," she wrote. " ... Community fridges have gained in popularity in the area and are filling a gap for folks who need additional food during these difficult times."
For more information on the community fridges in Des Moines libraries, go to www.dmpl.org/dmpl-community-fridges.
Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Community fridges open in Des Moines Public Libraries to feed hungry
