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Was dead set against community fridges until I saw the numbers
I thought neighborhood fridges would just get trashed or attract pests, but a friend in Portland ran the stats on their local one. Over 6 months, they logged 2,000+ meals taken with only two complaints about mess. Has anyone seen these actually work in a smaller town, or does it depend on who runs it?
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smith.nancy2mo ago
Used to think these things were just asking for trouble, but seeing actual numbers like that changes my mind, your mileage may vary but that's pretty convincing.
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park.miles2mo ago
The 2,000 meals number is pretty wild, but what kind of setup are we talking? Like is this a full stocked fridge with prepared meals or more of a pantry situation where people grab canned goods and dry stuff? Just wondering if the success hinges on what you actually put in there, because I could see a Portland crowd being way more on board with taking stuff vs a smaller town where people might be weird about it.
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rileygarcia2mo ago
Oh man, that's a good point! Honestly I've seen one in my neighborhood that started with just shelf-stable stuff like beans and rice, but then someone left a whole case of fancy kombucha once, and people went nuts for it. @park.miles is right about the crowd thing though - out in the suburbs where I grew up, folks would probably be too proud to grab anything unless it was super anonymous, like late at night. But here in the city, I've watched a guy walk up in broad daylight, grab a jar of pickles and a loaf of bread, and just nod at everyone like it was totally normal. So yeah, the vibe of your actual town matters more than the fridge situation.
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