Stephanie Clarke, board member with the Halifax Community Fridge, brings both personal experience and professional dedication to her volunteer work. Drawing on a decade in social services and the memory of her own family’s financial struggles, Stephanie joined the entirely volunteer-run organization in September 2022 with a clear sense of purpose. The Halifax Community Fridge operates on a simple but powerful idea — a free, no-questions-asked fridge and pantry where neighbours can share food with one another in a dignified, low-barrier way.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Halifax Community Fridge is a mutual aid-based fridge and pantry that is entirely volunteer-run. We aim to provide free, low-barrier access to food in our community. We rely on donations and the continued support of partners in order to maintain operations.
We do not survey who accesses the fridge, how much one takes, or how one uses the items once they are taken.
The fridge is filled, maintained, and cleaned daily by our amazing volunteers.
What problem does it aim to solve?
The Halifax Community Fridge aims to increase access to food for people experiencing food insecurity while also helping reduce food waste in our community. We strive to make support as low-barrier and accessible as possible, allowing neighbours to share food with one another in a dignified and community-driven way.
While community fridges are not a complete solution to food insecurity, we hope they can provide meaningful relief and support to individuals and families when they need it most.
When did you start/join it?
I joined in September of 2022 after moving back East from Winnipeg. The Halifax Community Fridge was launched in January 2022.
What made you want to get involved?
As someone whose family struggled financially growing up, helping to provide access to food is an important cause for me. Worrying about your next meal is a concern no one should have to deal with, but is not the reality of the world we live in, especially with increasing food costs.
I also worked in social services for 10 years, and one recurring barrier many community members face is the limitations of traditional food banks — whether it’s restrictions on visit frequency, transportation and location challenges, or limits on how much food individuals and families are allowed to take. Community Fridges help to try and bridge that gap.
What was the situation like when you started?
When I first started, the fridge had been around for about 9 months. There was a lot of recruiting volunteers, figuring out fundraising and how to keep the fridge stocked.
How has it changed since?
We have changed the frequency in which we clean the fridge and have also had more partners join in for pick up donations. This means that our team of volunteers has grown significantly since the beginning.
We have tried to find new ways to fundraise. Keeping the fridge stocked is still our priority, so even though we have found new ways to bring money in, the cost of food is constantly increasing, making it harder for our money to stretch.
What more needs to be done?
There needs to be more done on a provincial and federal scale. Current approaches still rely heavily on charitable models that treat food insecurity as an emergency rather than a systemic issue. There needs to be more options that allow people to access food with dignity and without barriers.
The cost of groceries continues to rise, putting an added strain on individual and family budgets alike. No one should be making the decision between buying food and having a safe place to stay. There needs to be more done to tackle the root causes and address other factors like access to income, land and housing.
How can our readers help?
There are many ways readers can help out. All donations go to help keep the fridge and pantry stocked. Readers can send an e-transfer (communityfridgehfx@gmail.com), shop from our Amazon list (link in our Instagram bio), support one of our fundraisers, volunteer (we are currently looking for a Treasurer to join the team) or help spread the word!
Do you have any events coming up?
Keep an eye on our Instagram page for a book sale announcement coming soon!
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
Community Garden Kjipuktuk does a lot of great mutual aid work in the community (including sharing produce with the fridge!). Also, shout out to Feed Nova Scotia for the work they do and helping us secure a grant for $15,000, which will help us with keeping the fridge stocked more consistently.
