'Fix Our Fridge' campaign to help fix appliance Homeless Alliance uses to feed hundreds

Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman
·2 min read
Chris McDermitt, chef at the Homeless Alliance, moves food stored inside a walk-in refrigerator at the nonprofit's day shelter in Oklahoma City.
Chris McDermitt, chef at the Homeless Alliance, moves food stored inside a walk-in refrigerator at the nonprofit's day shelter in Oklahoma City.

A local nonprofit is raising money to help continue its mission to provide free meals for people experiencing homelessness.

Funds from the Homeless Alliance's "Fix Our Fridge" campaign will be used to repair the walk-in refrigerator in the nonprofit's day shelter.

Taylor Self, Homeless Alliance communications director, said the campaign continues through July 31. She said community members have been making donations, but more are still needed to reach the $30,000 goal.

Self said the day shelter sees an average of more than 350 guests per day. She said last year, the day shelter's kitchen team, led by Homeless Alliance Chef Chris McDermitt, prepared more than 103,000 meals for neighbors experiencing homelessness.

'It's all about making good food for people who deserve good food'

The Homeless Alliance, 1724 NW 4, welcomed McDermitt about two years ago, Self said. Recently, McDermitt and the agency’s new chief executive officer, Meghan Mueller, and Carrie Sauer, chief development officer, discussed the urgent need for repairs to the refrigerator, and the campaign was launched.

“He comes from a fine dining background, and he’s incredibly passionate about serving good food to people,” Self said.

More: As OKC's homeless demographics change, Point In Time count informs where services most needed

“It’s all about making good food for people who deserve good food, and it can really set them up for success.”

Self said the nonprofit has had to make several service calls to fix the walk-in freezer, which is on its "last leg," and those calls have been expensive.

The funds from the campaign will help pay for a new condenser for the freezer and other kitchen improvements.

Homeless Alliance Chef Chris McDermitt moves items around recently inside a walk-in refrigerator at the Homeless Alliance day shelter in Oklahoma City.
Homeless Alliance Chef Chris McDermitt moves items around recently inside a walk-in refrigerator at the Homeless Alliance day shelter in Oklahoma City.

Self said the nonprofit has been pleased with the community response to the campaign.

“We’ve just been so happy and pleasantly surprised at how the community has rallied around this project,” she said.

Self said the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors has pledged to match all campaign donations up to $10,000.

“The community is so supportive of us, and part of that is being good stewards of what has been given to us,” she said.

“This campaign is just a matter of taking care of what has been given to us and making sure we are putting out the best meals possible.“

How to donate

To donate, go online to https://www.homelessalliance.org/.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Homeless Alliance in OKC raising funds to fix day shelter fridge