Worcester Gets Free Community Fridge No. 4

WORCESTER, MA — A project to bring free, healthy food to Worcester residents is expanding.

The Worcester Community Fridges group is opening a fourth location in the Greendale neighborhood, the first free fridge outside the immediate downtown area. The new fridge will be located near the intersection of Brooks and Rockdale streets across from Kendrick Field.

The Greendale refrigerator was set to open on Saturday with a community block party.

Worcester Community Fridges opened its first outdoor unit at Fantastic Pizza along Main Street in January. The "WooTwo" site along Portland Street near City Hall came next. A separate group, Worcester Free Fridge, opened the Southbridge Street location near Crompton Park, but the two groups have combined forces with a mission of making it easy to access healthy food.

The concept is pretty simple: anyone can visit a refrigerator to grab free food 24/7. Volunteers stock and maintain each location.

"Worcester Community Fridges believes having daily access to fresh food is a human right. In Worcester, 15 percent of families, have identified as living with food insecurity," the group's website says. "While navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, these numbers have risen significantly within our city. Community fridges are open 24/7, leaving no barriers in the way of someone accessing free food."

The group is always looking for help and donations; visit the Facebook page to find out how to help.