In the Covid-19 era, free food fridges are popping up all over NYC

The entwined tragedies of widespread hunger and food waste plagued America long before the coronavirus pandemic. In the last few months, activists have started “community fridges” across New York’s five boroughs—no-questions-asked coolers plugged in outside bodegas and apartment buildings, stocked with otherwise-trashed, still-edible fruits, greens, chicken, and in Harlem, “the best mac and cheese on the island.” We’ve all seen the heartbreaking images of endless lines outside food banks and pantries, and farmers dumping huge amounts of milk in trenches. The activists running the fridges say their efforts are a necessary corrective to all that. “There is no need for anyone to be hungry,” an organizer tells The Cut. “The tonnage of food that we’re rescuing? Humbling is the best word.”