South Burlington High School "sharing fridge" provides free food all day, every day

April Fisher, Burlington Free Press
·2 min read
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SOUTH BURLINGTON - South Burlington High School students can now access free food all day, every day, thanks to the school's new "sharing fridge."

Located in one of the school's two cafeterias, the glass door refrigerator is accessible at any time for students to put food in or take food out. When students take a juice box, milk carton, apple, or other item from the lunch line, but later decide they no longer want it, they can pop it in the fridge. When students are hungry and want a free snack, they can grab it from the fridge.

South Burlington High School principal Patrick Burke poses with the school's new "sharing fridge" on Jan. 24, 2023.
South Burlington High School principal Patrick Burke poses with the school's new "sharing fridge" on Jan. 24, 2023.

The "sharing fridge" follows the lead of other free community fridges, also known as "freedges," that have popped up across the country over the past several years.

"This year we have universal lunch for all of our students, but our cafeteria only serves lunch between certain times," said Principal Patrick Burke. "So the extent that we can increase universal access to food, that's obviously really a good thing for us."

A South Burlington High School Student drinks a juice box from the sharing fridge on Jan. 24, 2023.
A South Burlington High School Student drinks a juice box from the sharing fridge on Jan. 24, 2023.

Tackling food waste

The idea originated from the school's environmental club, called The Green Team. The club approached Burke for a conversation about compost, and the conversation quickly shifted to talking about food waste in general.

The typical Vermont high school student produces about 0.35 pounds of food waste per week, according to 2014 data from a Vermont Solid Waste Management District. This translates to about 327 pounds of food waste per week for the approximately 935 students at South Burlington High School.

South Burlington High School principal Patrick Burke grabs a milk carton from the sharing fridge on Jan. 24, 2023.
South Burlington High School principal Patrick Burke grabs a milk carton from the sharing fridge on Jan. 24, 2023.

To address food waste, the Green Team first thought about doing a "sharing table," but then decided with Burke on a "sharing fridge" for preserving perishable items.

"Around here, we get some of our best ideas from our students," Burke said. "Their ideas can germinate and kickstart little changes around the school that that can make a difference."

Contact April Fisher at amfisher@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AMFisherMedia

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: South Burlington High School "sharing fridge" fights hunger and waste