Brownieland Stocks the Free99Fridge for our June Volunteer Project

Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, has found that one in eight people in Georgia face hunger. According to the USDA, 12% of Georgia households with children do not have the resources to provide enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle for all family members. The Atlanta Community Food Bank’s website states that one in seven children will go to bed hungry tonight. Now that summer is here, many of Georgia’s students lose access to meals they usually receive at school, leaving them food insecure until fall. 

The good news is that we have some incredible local nonprofit organizations helping to fill the gap between food insecurity and getting food to those in need. Second Helpings Atlanta, a nonprofit food rescue organization, has stepped up to the plate this summer by providing more food to children, teens, and families through their Summer Hunger 2022 campaign. SHA also offers volunteer opportunities year-round, like the one we participated in by signing up to drive a food rescue route. The Atlanta Community Food Bank  relies on volunteers daily to keep its promise to end food insecurity in Atlanta. ACFB offers a range of volunteer opportunities like ACFB’s Grocery Floor, where volunteers assist representatives from partner agencies with product selection. Speaking of ACFB, they have partnered with Grady Health and Open Hand Atlanta for the Food as Medicine partnership. This collaboration aims to bridge the critical gap between health and nutrition by ensuring patients and families of Grady Health System have access to healthy, affordable foods. These are just a few of the amazing organizations working daily to end food scarcity throughout Georgia.

With this in mind, the Brownieland Team set out this month to donate to the Free99Fridge, an Atlanta-based grassroots organization committed to fighting for food justice and addressing the needs of our neighbors through mutual aid. The Free99Fridge was founded in 2020 and is an entirely community-run effort maintained by a crew of volunteers. Community fridges, also known as “solidarity fridges,” have a simple premise: Functioning fridges, often donated, are placed outside local businesses. Volunteers and community members fill the fridges with fresh fruits and vegetables to fight hunger and prevent food waste. Each refrigerator also offers a dry pantry area for nonperishable goods along with a space for utensils, pet food, baby items, and hygiene products. As stated on their website: Free99Fridge is a solution-oriented collective aiming to build community and end food disparities in Atlanta one fridge at a time! Find out more HERE.