Community Fridges Toronto (CFTO) is a network of public fridges with free food run by volunteers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with the intent of providing mutual aid to those in need, such as the homeless and people with food insecurity.[1][2][3] The network was co-created by Jalil Bokhari and his friend Julian Bentivegna to help support the homeless population in the Alexandra Park neighborhood in Toronto.[2] As of May 2022, there are eight CFTO fridges in Toronto.[1][4]
In November 2020, CFTO was forced to remove one of their public fridges in the Parkdale neighborhood by the City of Toronto due to "public safety and accessibility concerns", citing the "abandoned appliance bylaw" meant to protect children "and sanitation issues related to stopping the spread of COVID-19."[5][6][7] After the removal, the Parkdale community moved the fridge to another location.[6]
Other community food security initiatives in Toronto
· Road to Zero Waste, co-founded in December 2017 by Laylo Atakhodjaeva and her husband Shabeeb Hasan, is a registered charitable organization, and has four community fridges in Toronto and a combined total of nine community fridges in the Greater Toronto Area as of July 2024.
· Toronto Little Free Pantries Project, started in April 2020, is a grassroots not for profit initiative of different individuals hosting a pantry in their community, and shows approximately sixty little free pantries in Toronto on the map on its website as of July 2024.
· The Personal Care Bank, founded by William Emilio in October 2021, is a grassroots not for profit community run initiative, and lists thirteen locations on its website as of July 2024: ten in Toronto (three of which are at Toronto Public Library branches); two in Peterborough, Ontario; and one in New Westminster, British Columbia.
· Community Food Hub, founded by Sitra Suleiman in March 2022, is a grassroots not for profit volunteer led initiative, featuring a community fridge and little free pantry, and has two locations in Scarborough as of July 2024.
References
edit- ^ a b Kwong, Evelyn (2021-03-07). "'Take what you need, leave what you can': How a Toronto network is transforming the way we think about food insecurity". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ a b Lafontaine, Miriam (2020-07-23). "Pair aims to set up network of community fridges across Toronto offering free food to those in need". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ Morrison, Lyndsay (2020-08-27). "Community fridges help Torontonians dealing with food insecurity". CTV News. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ Houghton, Brooke (2022-05-03). "Toronto Butcher Shop Set To Host New Community Fridge & Says It's A 'Direct Way To Help'". Narcity. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ Francis, Angelyn (2020-11-25). "Volunteers for food sharing initiative ordered by city to remove fridge". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ a b "Parkdale community fridge finds new home after city forced it to move". CBC News. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ Draaisma, Muriel (2020-11-23). "City shuts down Parkdale community fridge but organizers hope to find it a new private home". CBC News. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
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