Library officials report growing food insecurity in the county as they seek to stock their barrier-free food assistance program.
LORAIN, Ohio -- The next time you clean out your pantry and find an extra can of soup or a box of pasta you forgot about, the Lorain Public Library has a very neighborly suggestion.The Lorain Public Library System is hosting a community food drive aimed at stocking the pantry shelf above its outdoor “Freedge” — a free, 24/7 refrigerator available to anyone who needs a little help filling their grocery bag.
Although the drive is dubbed “Share the Love, Stock the Freedge,” the drive focuses on non-perishable food items that can be easily stored and quickly used by families and individuals facing food insecurity. Non-perishable donations began being accepted at all Lorain Public Library System branches on Monday. The food drive will end March 31. “The Freedge is a way for us to offer assistance 24/7 with no forms to fill out, no questions asked, no barriers,” Director of Community Engagement Kathleen Norman said in a news release. “It is free, accessible produce and non-perishable items for anyone that needs it, which is unfortunately a growing number of families in Lorain County.” The Freedge and non-perishable pantry shelf are located outside the South Lorain Branch, but donations should be brought inside the building. The refrigerator itself is intended only for food pickup, not drop-offs. Library officials are asking for shelf-stable items such as canned vegetables and soup, pasta and pasta sauce, Chef Boyardee or SpaghettiO products, tuna, ready rice, fruit cups, peanut butter, oatmeal, dried fruit, nuts, and trail mix. The South Lorain Freedge was installed in 2023 as part of a global community fridge movement and a local partnership with El Centro de Servicios Sociales, Inc. and Lorain County Public Health. Similar refrigerators can be found in communities across the United States and around the world, offering food access with dignity and zero paperwork.Hannah Drown has been with cleveland.com since 2014 and currently works in education reporting covering a variety of education topics impacting the region. Previously, she worked as the Facebook Live news...
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