Since 2023, Springfield Community Gardens has partnered to fill what are called community fridges across Springfield, bringing fresh produce to areas where people already are and giving it away with no strings attached. It's an almost casual attempt to fill a niche for everyday hunger that is often overlooked by big systematic solutions.
Gina Marie Walden works at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library in downtown Springfield. She helped start and maintain a community fridge at the library.
“They have the relationships with the farmers, and they purchase fresh produce from local farmers, and they bring it to us, and we put it out for people in the community, our patrons, to come, and we ask that they just take what they need.”
It is an opportunity to share food but also an opportunity for education as well as a chance to share resources.
“We have a ‘where to get help in Springfield’ resource list,” Walden explained. “We'll give that to them. And it lists the local places that they can get meals but also the local food pantries as well and other services in the community.”
It is also a chance to share something more intangible — community itself.
“We've seen folks standing out here who have never met each other, and then they start talking and swapping recipes and asking, 'you know, what are you going to do with your food?' And so, it's really, it's really nice,” she said.
But that all starts with the food. The community fridge project looks different than our typical image of shelf-stable canned and boxed food pantry items. The fridge, and fridges like it housed at the Library Station branch library and the Fairbanks in Springfield, are filled with fresh produce.
Greens, beans, apples, root vegetables and more were in season when we visited.
Walden said that since the project started in 2023, the two community fridges hosted by the library district have distributed 11 tons of produce.
Most of that produce has come straight from local farms. Until earlier this year, Springfield Community Gardens had a federal grant to buy that produce and distribute it. That grant was one among many programs cut by the Trump Administration this past year.
“When we had the grant,” Walden said, “we were averaging, at this location, 150 people a week. At the library station, they were averaging 175 people a week.
Walden said Springfield Community Gardens is still bringing produce, but the fridge is not as full as it once was.
“There's been times,” she said, “where our fridge is totally empty, and we have patrons asking us, you know, when we're going to get more food. We don't know. Everyone's just doing their best.”
Kevin Prather is farmer educator for Springfield Community Gardens. He is also a farmer himself.
"Right now, things are pretty difficult,” Prather said. "Out of the 12 grants that were funding our operations, we lost seven of them. So, we've had to cut staff, scale back some programing.”
Prather said some farmers have worked to provide produce at lower prices or begun donating what they can. Some items are now unaffordable for the program and irreplaceable.
Springfield Community Gardens is making do, supplementing with produce from its gardens and donations from local gardeners. But Prather laments the end of federal funding for the program, which he said was win-win for local farmers wanting a steady market for their goods and local people hungry for fresh food.
“As a farmer myself,” Prather explained, “I've loved to see that we're paying, you know, retail value essentially from these farmers and then still were able to give it away for free. So what people are receiving from these free fridges is not, you know, bottom of the barrel donations. In many cases, it's, you know, certified organic, certified real organic."
He said Springfield Community Gardens has a broad mission to build a community where everyone has access to local healthy food. Despite the setbacks, he sees any progress towards that mission as a win.
“Helping people have access to food is sort of an end in its own right,” Prather said, “even if we're not fundamentally solving the food system issue. Having full bellies at the end of the day is its own end, in my opinion. I'm thankful to be able to be a part of this system that's helping people get fed. It's really uplifting."
Walden agrees. She sees the impact the program has, and outside of that immediate impact said it also highlights a bigger subject of food security: The importance of supporting local food networks and farmers.
"There have been times in our community," Walden explained, "where it's been difficult for trucks to get through. Could be the weather, it could be when we had the pandemic. And I feel like our local farmers and our farmers markets, Springfield Community Gardens, they're our safety net in our community.” She added "now is a great opportunity for everyone in our community, not only to help everyone else in our community, but support Springfield Community Gardens and also make more of our food local because it's a great thing to have, and we want to support our local farmers.”
Walden sees a community collaborating to do more together and said there is a place for anyone to contribute. Growers can donate their produce to Springfield Community Gardens, and volunteers can donate their time or money. It just begins with wanting to help and being willing to do the work.
“One of the things I would really like for the community to know is that Springfield Community Gardens staff and volunteers, they work really hard, and they're exceptionally kind, and they just want to help."
Nico Burasco provided production support for this story.