Who We Are

Buffalo Community Fridge is a grassroots, 100% volunteer-led mutual aid network of community fridges dedicated to giving Buffalo communities access to fresh and healthy food.

Our mission is to build stronger community bonds, eliminate food waste, and address food insecurity in Buffalo, New York.

Take what you need, leave what you don’t.

Get Involved!

How To Donate

The fridges rely on generous donations from local restaurants, farmers, organizations, community members and mutual aid resources from afar.

Anyone can bring fresh and non-perishable food directly to the fridges at any time; our fridges are accessible 24/7. NO DUMPING; put items away!

Not in Buffalo? Make a monetary donation and we’ll shop for the fridge with the funds.

What We Accept: Unlike traditional food banks, community fridges are able to accept both perishable and non-perishable food items such as fresh fruits and vegetables. We do accept individual pre-made meals that are labeled and dated. See shopping list ideas here.

What We Do Not Accept: Raw meat or seafood. Alcohol. Opened or expired foods. Catering trays of food (please separate into individual takeout containers). Personal hygiene items. Diapers. Medication. Any non-food-related donations.

How To Volunteer

There are many ways you can get involved with the fridges. Our lead organizers and volunteers help maintain the community fridges by:

  • Cleaning and organizing the fridges

  • Picking up donations

  • Grocery shopping

  • Coordinate bulk donations across all fridges

  • Cook individual, pre-made meals (label + date)

We aim to address food insecurity and reduce food waste across the City of Buffalo through mutual aid. That means our work is done by the communities and for the communities surrounding each fridge. We believe that in working together towards a common goal, we can strengthen bonds across, and within, communities.

The easiest way to volunteer is to join our Slack to keep up with daily updates and get involved!

Have a donation drive idea or want to coordinate a bulk donation? buffalocommunityfridge@gmail.com

FAQs

  • Anytime! Our fridges are open 24/7. We prefer donations during the hours of 8 am to 8 pm for the safety of our volunteers and community members.

  • Join our Slack group to see daily updates to know what’s needed and where. Fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, bread, frozen fruits and vegetables, non-perishable pantry items, prepared individual meals (labeled with expiration dates and ingredients), no raw meat, seafood or personal hygiene products! See grocery list ideas here.

  • Monetary donations are directly re-invested in our community fridges community through grocery shops, partnerships, community events, cleaning supplies, fridge maintenance, outreach materials, and community investment. We are 100% volunteer-led.

  • Yes! If you grocery shop for a community fridge, we can reimburse up to $75 per fridge.

    You must take a clear photo of your itemized receipt, email it to buffalocommunityfridge@gmail.com with a before and after photo of the stocked fridge.

    We only reimburse via Venmo. Please include your Venmo handle.

  • Buffalo Community Fridge is a network of community fridges located at 45 Jewett Avenue and 167 Herkimer Street.

    We work in partnership with independently-run community fridges across Buffalo, visit our Partners page for more information.

  • 167 Herkimer St.

    Big Herk Fridge began in Fall 2020 after Lourdes Vera's friend from In Our Hearts NYC reached out to tell her about the new community fridge initiative in Buffalo. Coincidentally, Lourdes' indoor fridge was experiencing some drainage problems. Instead of discarding the fridge when she got a replacement, she plugged it into an outdoor outlet, and Big Herk was born! This was especially timely considering the high need for food among West Side communities during the height of the pandemic.

  • 45 Jewett Ave.

    In 2019, Sara Corona and Tamika Potts connected through Buffalo Collegiate Charter School and began to brainstorm different ways to support the community. Once the pandemic began, Tamika learned of the Ferry fridge and began donating prepared meals. In the meantime, they went to work and started planning what is now known as Buffalo Love Fridge. They see the fridge as “A Love Letter to the Community”— a way of showing, love, support, and solidarity. It is located in the parking lot of 45 Jewett next to Tri-Main Center.

  • 286 East Ferry St. (Closed)

    The original Buffalo Community Fridgestarted at in front of the old Gigi’s in October 2020. During the pandemic, Jessie Reardon says that she was inspired to start the project in Buffalo upon first hearing about the effort in NYC through In Our Hearts. Along with a small group of lead volunteers, Reardon and her team coordinated a community-led effort to install a free fridge available 24/7 with a simple motto: Take what you need, leave what you don’t. This location has now permanently closed; please see map below for more resources.