First day back on my weekly #foodrescue run after a growing season hiatus. Small load from Sprouts but I was sincerely happy to see the people at the housing center to which I deliver. At the same time, I felt the groundhog day feeling that I was stepping back into the timeless loop of poverty, hunger, and charity.
The article for my town's Free Fridge, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening group just came out!
You can read the article here: https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/article_49e5b911-4f2a-41a1-b735-a0ddc09e3937.html
(Non-paywalled archive: https://archive.is/AjYvg )
Goes into detail on our efforts to build out Free Fridges throughout town, conduct Food Rescue, and to help folks garden their food indoors. Even interviews the local food bank and discusses our cooperative partnerships with them as well!
#solarPunk #foodRescue #indoorGardening #hydroponics #foodSecurity #foodBank #freeFridge #mutualAid
Alex, the Hearth Fire
boosted
On the Post-Scarcity Food front. My local group, which covers Free Fridges, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening - we just got interviewed my our town's local newspaper.
Which is cool.
We're starting to get noticed and more and more folks are joining the group organically.
The group currently has around 65 members in the discord chat. 80ish members (much overlap) on the email newsgroup. We have around 10 folks that have signed up for the food rescue app. And we get 5 to 15 folks in person and via zoom for the monthly meetings. We have a core very active group of around 6 folks with lots of folks hanging in the wing to help as needed.
And we have intentionally NOT recruited or let folks know about us (beyond a couple local events), as we wanted to get some things in place first.
I wanted to make sure that volunteers weren't met with a ghost town, right. I wanted to get the infrastructure in place first.
Well it's in place.
And we have some initial food rescues. And some more coming down the pipe. And some irons in the fire for new free fridge placements.
And the library and food bank is asking us to put together coursework and programming around growing your own food indoors.
So. For as much as I'm fucking nervous, lol. It's time to really start growing.... fuuuuck.
Ha! Funny thing. I was arguing caution and hoping for another month or two before really branching out and a fellow coordinator pushed back and said, fuck that, let's go now!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm being scared and I've been called out, HAHAHA!!! Which is good. I needed a swift kick in the ass. (honestly, if I hung back too much, this other person would have just gone ahead and done it. I am NOT the only decision maker here, even if I was the one to get it started)..
Alright. Fine. Let's do it, HAHAHAHA!!!!!
Oooooh.... this is happening. Shiiiit!!!
Failure is scary. But success is downright terrifying.
On the Post-Scarcity Food front. My local group, which covers Free Fridges, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening - we just got interviewed my our town's local newspaper.
Which is cool.
We're starting to get noticed and more and more folks are joining the group organically.
The group currently has around 65 members in the discord chat. 80ish members (much overlap) on the email newsgroup. We have around 10 folks that have signed up for the food rescue app. And we get 5 to 15 folks in person and via zoom for the monthly meetings. We have a core very active group of around 6 folks with lots of folks hanging in the wing to help as needed.
And we have intentionally NOT recruited or let folks know about us (beyond a couple local events), as we wanted to get some things in place first.
I wanted to make sure that volunteers weren't met with a ghost town, right. I wanted to get the infrastructure in place first.
Well it's in place.
And we have some initial food rescues. And some more coming down the pipe. And some irons in the fire for new free fridge placements.
And the library and food bank is asking us to put together coursework and programming around growing your own food indoors.
So. For as much as I'm fucking nervous, lol. It's time to really start growing.... fuuuuck.
Ha! Funny thing. I was arguing caution and hoping for another month or two before really branching out and a fellow coordinator pushed back and said, fuck that, let's go now!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm being scared and I've been called out, HAHAHA!!! Which is good. I needed a swift kick in the ass. (honestly, if I hung back too much, this other person would have just gone ahead and done it. I am NOT the only decision maker here, even if I was the one to get it started)..
Alright. Fine. Let's do it, HAHAHAHA!!!!!
Oooooh.... this is happening. Shiiiit!!!
Failure is scary. But success is downright terrifying.
Results of that food rescue route I mentioned! A lot of produce. Neighbors came and grabbed a lot of the veggies when it came in. I put the rest into the fridge for others to grab later.
This was one vendor on one night.
We throw away so much good food.
I'm going to go find more food.
#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodRescue#foodWaste#freeFridge#postScarcity
closeup of boxes and crates including colorful okra
Closeup of boxes and crates including eggplants.
Close up of produce placed in the fridge including swiss chard, kale, cauliflower, carrots, and leafy greens.
Four large crates and a box of various produce including leafy greens, brassicas, carrots, peppers, etc in front of a free fridge and community pantry. The fridge is closed and the pantry has about thirty canned goods in it from previous contributions.
Momentous Update on the Food Rescue Program!!!
We got our first food rescue!!!! Like official. In the app! Not an adhoc one. And it wasnt me who set this up! Another organizer got our first grocer. I put the route into the app and opened it up for volunteers.
And a community member picked it up!!!!!
We are rescuing food from a grocer and delivering to a free fridge!
Calling it: November 14th of last year (2024) - to now (June 10th 2025). 7 months from idea conception to a formal route / food rescue between a food seller and a food distributor. (With founding a mutual aid group, to growing it, to partnering with a national food rescue org - yay Food Rescue US! - to meeting with a grocer and connecting them to a free fridge all in between)
Now it's time to scale....
#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodSecurity#postScarcity#foodRescue#foodRescueUS#freeFridge
Quick guide on what can and cannot stay in the free fridge. If there are ever any concerns or questions, do not hesitate to ask! Our DMs are open. #freefridge #mutualaid #foodrescue #fredericksburgva
Food Rescue Program Update
HOLY FUCKING SHIT I AM FUCKING SCARED OF TOMORROW!!!! (hint: it's good news)
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Blarrrrgh!!!!!!!!
Fuck.
Okay, it's good news, really, but shit am I a catatonic mess of nausea and nerves and I don't fucking know what to do.
Tomorrow is our weekly Farmer's Market. This is really important in our town and it's one key to building greater community. This isn't an idyllic saccharine frolic as the Farmer's Market trope is often presented.
So. Two folks who have joined my Fridge and Food Rescue group have INITIATED, ORGANIZED, AND LEAD!!!! setting up at our Farmer's Market. Two or three other folks will be joining these two leaders.
I didn't do this. I started the main group, sure, but they're going off on their own without me. That's a good thing. Amazing thing actually. I should never be a bottleneck or the main person. This has to be everyone.
But they've asked me to come and see if any of the other farmers and vendors at the market want to enroll in our food rescue program while they handle other things.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Y'all. I'm good at talking to a group of people that want to work together. I'm good at solving programs. I'm damned good at setting up groups, and infrastructure, and programs.
But I am DEATHLY AFRAID of talking to people that could possibly say no. Hahahaha.
I didn't use to be like this, but I experienced a really fucking traumatic event about three years ago that involved me begging and pleading and making and giving arguments that absolutely were logical and reasoned and supported with a massive amount of evidence. I spent tens of thousands of dollars that I didn't (and still dont) have. I went into crazy debt that I might still not get out from.... all to be brushed aside and denied at every front.
I say that... because its made it to where I can't approach anyone now if there will be any push back. I can fight people, right. I can stand up to someone doing bad in the moment. But I can't try to REASON with them.
And that's bleeding into other aspects of my life. I can't go to city council meetings to plead for them not to set up an AI data center in my town, for example.
And, interestingly, it makes it incredibly difficult to "cold call" or approach folks to sign them up for food rescue.
Fuck me....
I'm going to try this tomorrow. And I have my friends and comrades there who WILL help me.
But, ya'll... I'm fucking scared.
Hahaha. Shit.
Today's food rescue: a bunch of submarine sandwiches from a local cafe!
Stuck em in the free fridge.
#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodRescue#foodSecurity#postScarcity#freeFridge
The same sandwiches place in the free fridge. They take up a whole shelf even stacked up on each other.
22 submarine sandwiches. Some in brown paper wraps, some in tin foil. A seal sticker says "Enjoy!".