YORKTON – The Yorkton Community Fridge Culinary Team were busy July 8, making a total of 463 sandwiches.
"We had 46 cases of cold cuts donated from Harvest Meats and there were 38 dozen buns donated from Superstore," told Judy De Vos, head of the culinary team for the community fridge, in an interview with SaskToday.ca
On top of the sandwiches, De Vos said the team made up 154 containers of chili and rice for the fridge.
Located in the parking lot of SIGN on Broadway, the fridge has been in operation since Oct of 2023. And though De Vos has deemed the project "very successful" during that time, it might be a sign of bigger issues.
"I would say when it's stocked it's gone within an hour. I know I've been there stocking the fridge and there's been cars lined up waiting. We can say we're stocking it three or four times a day and you could still go there and it would be empty," said De Vos, later noting that the un-housed are the primary users of the community fridge.
De Vos said the fridge is owned and stocked by the community, therefore anybody can take what they need and leave what they can.
For safety reasons, only the following are acceptable donations:
- Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables (including home grown)
- Dry goods
- Canned foods
- Dairy and eggs
- Store-bought bread products
- Hygiene products
- Diapers/baby wipes/formula
- Cleaning products
- Prepared meals and cooked meat made in a licensed kitchen by someone with a Food Safe certificate and labelled with facility name, date, and ingredients.
Also for safety reasons, the Community Fridge can not accept the following:
- Home canning
- Homemade food
- Raw meat and seafood
- Dented, damaged or opened packages
- Expired or mouldy foods
- Alcohol
- Medications
- Toys, clothing and housewares
As well as donations, De Vos said the group is always on the lookout for volunteers to help clean the fridge, prepare food, and maintain the community fridge garden.
If people are planting gardens, De Vos said they are reaching out to the community to plant a row of vegetables for the fridge.
"We will accept donations from anybody that has a garden," said De Vos.
If anyone has any donations that they want to specifically donate to the culinary team, contact Judy De Vos at 306 783 9409.
To sign up for duties related the community fridge, visit the website.
