Upper East Side Gets Its 1st Community Fridge, With Free, Fresh Food

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Two years after community fridges began popping up around the city as a form of pandemic-era mutual aid, the Upper East Side is finally getting its first one.

The open-to-anyone refrigerator will be placed Thursday morning in front of 1780 First Ave., on the diagonal path that runs from East 92nd to 93rd streets on the NYCHA Holmes Towers campus.

It was conceived by two local nonprofits: the food justice group Grassroots Grocery and Gotham Food Pantry, both of which aim to combat food insecurity at the neighborhood level.

Neighbors are encouraged to donate fresh produce or non-perishable items, or sign up to volunteer to help stock and clean it.

Sponsoring the new fridge will be the East Side's own Central Synagogue, which will lend "financial and volunteer support," organizers say. The NYCHA Holmes Tenant Association will likewise pitch in with daily volunteer work.

Still, organizers need all the help they can get, seeking Upper East Side volunteers who can clean the fridge or drop off food after picking it up from nearby businesses.

Community fridges began to proliferate around the five boroughs in 2020, as growing numbers of New Yorkers faced food insecurity during the pandemic. Though fridges opened in nearby neighborhoods like Harlem and the Upper West Side, the East Side has lacked one until now.

Details about the fridge are still being worked out, but organizers hope to keep it open 24-7, said Daniel Zauderer, co-founder and CEO of Grassroots Grocery. Once open, Zauderer hopes the Upper East Side fridge will help create access to healthy food, especially for Holmes Towers residents.

"I hope that this event and the community space it's initiating serve as a catalyst to activate our community in the fight for food justice for our fellow neighbors," Zauderer said in a statement.

Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new fridge will feature speeches from City Councilmember Julie Menin and Central Synagogue Rabbi Angela Buchdahl.

The Andrus Group, a project management company based in Manhattan, is helping manage the fridge on a pro-bono basis, and built the structure that houses the fridge itself, organizers say.

Sandra Perez, tenant association president at the NYCHA Holmes Towers, said she was "ecstatic" about the fridge's launch.

"Take what you need, leave what you can," she said. "It's your fridge, it's my fridge, it's everyone's fridge here."