After seeing the success of community fridges in Worcester, a group of students at The Fitzgerald Community School aims to build equity and community within the town of Northborough by tackling food insecurity.

“Community activism is important,” said their teacher, Maria Ravellim who was also involved with the Worcester Community Fridges. “I think it’s cool for the kids to see the problem and find a way to solve it.”

The students were involved with the process to create the fridge from the very beginning.

“We had to raise money and we had to paint,” said first grader Ellie Guong.

The group raised money through the creation of a snack store, where they made food and sold it to parents and other kids. They also received donations from community members and a GoFundMe page. After raising the money, the students sent out letters and visited businesses to find a location that would host the fridge.

“A lot of people said no,” Fournier said.

But the students got the yes they needed from the Northborough Food Pantry. 

“That was awesome,” Guong said.

Now, The Friend Fridge, as the group decided to call it, is located at 37 Pierce Street in Northborough.

“It’s a nice [addition] to the resources they’re already providing,” Ravelli said about the juxtaposition of the fridge and pantry. “To see this work in a small town is cool.”

The students created their fridge’s logo, which includes a heart and fruit. The appliance also reads, “Give what you can, take what you need” and “Free Food 24/7.”

“I painted the red heart,” said first grader Kendall Fournier.

The students are also involved in food preparation. They use some of the fridge’s goods or other donations to stock the fridge with ready-made meals. They try to visit together as a group twice a week.

“We cooked overnight oats, mac and cheese, ice cream and quesadillas,” said kindergartener Eddy Jackson. “I like cooking.”

Jackson added that he now also cooks at home too.

“I love cooking,” Guong said. “We made mac and cheese, pancakes, and rice crispies with marshmallows.”

This project has sparked a love of giving back for these young advocates.

“It makes people feel happy they get food,” said first grader Juliette Palumbo.

Palumbo went with her mom to the fridge, bringing blueberries, loaves of bread, spaghetti sauce and other items.

“It made us really really happy,” Palumbo said. “She loved it.”