CINCINNATI — When artists, chefs and goodwill collide, the hope is, a community is nourished.

What You Need To Know

  • Artists, chefs, community come together to nourish their community  

  • The Fridge, Etc., project aims to feed the hungry, but also open the door to conversation between neighbors

  • More free food fridges to pop up in other “food desert” neighborhoods this year 

Situated on the sidewalk and around the corner from The Welcome Project’s entry, on the corner of Colerain Avenue, a brightly colored refrigerator sits in a pile of freshly fallen snow.

Inside, are fully stocked shelves of fresh food and pantry items. And it is all free to passersby who need a meal, thanks to the newest Cincinnati-based initiative to feed the hungry, The Fridge, Etc.

But its mission goes beyond food, said 30-year-old  Jordan Tuss, remove extra space here the fridge’s project manager and co-founder.

“The ultimate goal is long-standing, mutual-aid efforts that bring communities closer together and create an outlet for people to feel safe, supported, and the ability to, just maybe, thrive a little bit harder that day,” Tuss said. "We want for this to be a community hub within the neighborhoods that they are located,” Tuss said.

“The impact, I think, at large, is just giving people access to resources that they have a right to. I mean, food is an essential right, simply put. There's more than enough to go around,” said Tuss, who drummed up the free-fridge idea with co-founder, Toncia Chavez with ETC Produce and Provisions.

“These fridges exemplify that beautiful act of just breaking bread and sharing, and allowing people to get resources that are readily available. Food is everywhere. We just need to make outlets to get it,” Tuss said.

That is where the free food fridge comes in with its rainbow brick artwork facade, which was designed and created by Sediment Design and local artists Julia Lipovsky and Matthew Groty, showcasing the advice: “Take what you need. Leave what you can,” just below a large, ombré-style rainbow billboard with the words: “SILENCE. DO-NO-GOOD.”

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, The Fridge, Etc., which is sponsored by the artist and community-driven Wave Pool and The Welcome Project, opened in October in Over-the-Rhine, as a proof of concept, before it moved to its permanent home in November -- at 2936 Colerain Ave. in Camp Washington.

Tuss said that the fridge unifies the community through both food and art.

"This project is really by the people for the people, and we (want) to make sure that it stays a tried-and-true point of connection,” Tuss said. "We're trying to make long-standing community impact. And so, the partnership with The Welcome Project is the perfect match because their whole mission is working with immigrants and refugees and at-risk communities."

The idea originally sparked after Tuss saw a story in The New York Times last May about 140 free food fridges popping up in New York City to feed the homeless — food that came from local renowned chefs and restaurants that might otherwise end up in the dumpster at the end of the day.

With that in mind, The Fridge, Etc., partnered with several small businesses, local farms, chefs and community members who donate to fridge’s mission, keeping it fully stocked with fresh food and canned goods.

The community-based fridge, Tuss said, is two-fold.

It feeds the community with the food inside, but also educates people about local farms and chefs, and organically drives patrons to their local services and businesses.

“That is an emphasis on local. That's an emphasis on fresh. That's an emphasis on connecting with local farms,” Tuss explained. “We have over 60 small businesses donating to this fridge and hundreds of community members. So, if you're a donor, who visits one of these businesses, instead of going to your usual whatever… check them out (instead). It's another way to kind of plug people in who want to give back.”

Tuss added, it’s not only free to those who need a meal, but it is gourmet.

“I do want to emphasize that everything that goes into the fridge, would otherwise go into a dumpster. It's still top-quality stuff. I'd say 80% of all the bread we get every week is from local bakeries… sourdough, wood-fired bread. Like that's a great example of just the nourishment. It's not white sandwich bread and peanut butter,” Tuff said.

In fact, during its “Welcome Window” located next to the fridge, local chefs, like Maggie Lawson, prepare dishes for anyone to nosh on the go.

Beginning in December, Tuss said, they started their own spin on the BOGO concept. For every to-go meal someone buys at the Welcome Window, another meal goes into the fridge for someone to eat at no cost. 

“The Welcome Window is just a way for us to further emphasize nourishing people, feeding people and making sure they're getting the best of the best. Because if you meet that need, it will open up so many other possibilities that people will have the energy or the mental space to work on things in their life that they maybe can't because they're hungry,” Tuss surmised.

COVID-19 has not slowed the fridge or its mission down one morsel. In fact, it has become more of a vital staple to the community’s overall wellbeing and health amid the pandemic, Tuss said.

“We can't keep it full. There are so many hungry people. It's been emphasized on this next-level scale,” Tuss said. “It's made us realize that because there have been so many staff cuts at other local food pantries, or there's infrastructural issues that they've had to take cuts because of COVID, major food pantries can't serve as people as well as they used to.”

And the colder it gets, the larger the need.

“They're crucial. It’s the whole point of servicing a food desert. If you have kids at home, or you don't have a car, or there's something stopping you from getting to the two miles down the road to the grocery or the mile down the road or whatever, you can't hop on a bus because it's going to take too long, because there's snow everywhere. It's essential to have this resource everyone has, should have the right to clean water and nourishing food. So, to have this just a block down the road from most of these people's houses, is game-changing. It's literally a life-saving resource,” Tuss said.

The Colerain Avenue location is just the beginning for The Fridge, Etc., initiative.

In an effort to serve more “food deserts” in the Greater Cincinnati area, free food fridges are in the works in two Price Hill locations, one in Walnut Hills and one in Covington, Kentucky. Tuss hopes to launch them this spring.

In fact, at the Northern Kentucky location Tuss is working to bring a larger presence that could include hot water access along with a giant free-food fridge next to the city's community garden.

“We would love to have fridges in every single community that needs access to fresh fruit, vegetables and dry-good pantry staples, anywhere that is needed in the Cincinnati area,” Tuss said.

The driving forces for Tuss is to be able create an experience that opens doors and conversations throughout these neighborhoods, and bring people together with a long-lasting experience.

“If you create an experience, people will keep talking. They'll keep coming back. They'll keep engaging,” Tuss said. “So, really everything I do, drives home this essence of, let's create a lasting experience that's safe and supportive, and have someone gain the ability to be more open and more vulnerable with themselves."

If you would like to donate food to the fridge, visit its Instagram page for drop-off dates and times.

To donate monetarily, text: FridgeCincy to 44-321. And if you’re interested in opening a free food fridge in your neighborhood, email Tuss at tussjh@gmail.com.