The Lincoln County Humane Society and Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold have teamed up for a new community fridge.
The fridge was built in a former cat gazebo at the LCHS offices on Fourth Ave in St. Catharines after Executive Director Kevin Strooband approached the LCHS board with the idea.
"We are a compassionate organization, typically to animals, but most animals have people attached to them. We've run a food bank program for pets for about 20 years. I had this idea for three years and finally I thought, maybe it's time? My board thought, 'Wow! Let's make this happen!.'"
People can take what they need from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a week starting today. A list of needed items will be available online with the hopes the community will help keep it stocked for those in need.
"People can't hesitate - if they need something, they need to come in and take it," Stooband explains. "I've had the question: what happens if someone takes it all? Well then we restock it. You can't steal from a community fridge."
Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold CEO Betty-Lou Souter believes this project will help make sure people from all over the city have access to the food they need., "There's lots of times that we have an over-abundance of a certain product from the food industry. We've noticed that this year. And so this will give us an opportunity to share some of that stuff. It's a great opportunity for us working together!"
Souter also notes while the fridge may not fill a long-term need, it will help people get through in the short-term.
Several groups donated to make the fridge a reality: The St. Catharines Rotary Club donated $15,000, the Grantham Lions Club donated $2,500, the Garden City Lions Club donated $1,000, and the St. David's Lions Club donated $750.
Click here to listen to Tim Denis' full interview with Strooband and Souter.