ABILENE, TX – The Abilene Community Fridge is now open outside Howard Radio offering visitors free produce, snacks and meals, embracing the simple philosophy of “take what you need and leave what you can.”
The fridge was an idea first formulated last fall and then brought into being by a team of roughly 10 locals, including founding member Reagan Van Coutren.
“It’s been awesome to see because I thought that maybe we would take awhile for us to get it started. This has only been up a couple of days and it’s really taken off on its own,” said Van Coutren.
Van Coutren says the pandemic spurred the idea, offering her and her fellow organizers a way to provide a temporary solution to neighbors facing food scarcity possibly for the first time. She says other community fridges, like in her native Austin, largely inspired the Key City’s version.
“The pandemic has thrown people into food insecurity who’ve never dealt with that before,” said Van Coutren. “There are so many hoops you have to jump through to get different kinds of aid, and we wanted to eliminate those hoops.”
The fridge is regularly stocked by team members and community donors who leave items on the site’s tiered shelves or inside the fridge. All is protected under a bright-blue-painted awning with “FREE FOOD, COMIDA GRATIS” stenciled on its sides.
Van Coutren says organizers hope to open more community fridges across the city, but until that dream is achieved, there is at least one fridge light on for those that need it.
The current Abilene Community Fridge is located at 4235 North First Street outside Howard Radio. It is always open.
