That's right.

It was 134 days ago that the first Abq Free Fridge opened it's "doors." Of course those doors have been opened hundreds if not thousands of times by at least hundreds of people. The community members that we meet when cleaning and stocking the fridge vary, but the message they tell us stays the same– that we are helping. Whether they have spent a long time living on the street or are newly unemployed, we are helping. And that help goes beyond because there are no boundaries to receiving food from our fridge. You don't have to prove you are a citizen, you don't have to prove your income, you don't have to have an address. You don't have to wait in line, during specific hours. You don't have to accept what is handed to you– you can choose what you'd like. Our mission is to feed people without any barriers. And we are doing just that.

Abq Free Fridge on day one, August 23, 2021.

We are not doing this alone, nor would we be able to. It is your fridge too. Whether you helped us purchase our first fridge or are just being introduced to the fridge today, it is yours as much as it is ours. People told us that it couldn't be done here. "You're going to...put a refrigerator...on the street?" I heard that multiple times last summer when I told friends and family about my idea. It wasn't mine first, there are many free fridges across the U.S. and world that were inspiration for bringing one here.

Moving the fridge structure.

134 days later we are still here, and we are bigger than ever! We are 237 strong and growing every day. This year we want to continue to build the momentum we did in 2021 and continue to feed as many people as we can. As I mentioned, we can't do that alone. We have a group of highly dedicated volunteers that clean the fridge every day, and shop for our fridge multiple times per week. In order to continue to grow and thrive, we need to bring some new volunteers into the fold.

This Sunday, January 9 at 11am we are hosting an in person volunteer event. This event will be open to everyone who is vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19. It will also be held outside, and masks will be required. If you are interested, you can sign up here.

If virtual is more your speed, then we will be hosting a virtual volunteer event February 6 at 11am. Please sign up for that event here.

This year we hope to grow our volunteer base in order to open more free fridges across Albuquerque. We need volunteers that can clean and shop for them. We would also like to foster more community partnerships. We currently have partnerships with several local businesses and schools to get food out of the landfills and into the fridge. In order to continue this invaluable work, we need more volunteers to facilitate relationships as well as pick up food and deliver it to the fridge.

Thank you so much to all of our donors, volunteers, and community members for making the launch of Abq Free Fridge such a success! We hope you can join us for one of our events, and we will talk to you soon!

-Veve, founder, Abq Free Fridge

Caitlin, our volunteer artist who painted our fridge structure. @caitlin_faith

Shopping for the fridge.

Personal care product bags put together by Dukes Track Club. @dukestrackclub

Official Abq Free Fridge Stickers, designed by Caitlin and donated by our friends at A Good Sign.

A full fridge is a happy fridge :)

<3