Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy
Sunday is the last day for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge and Pantry on the NW corner of 12th Street and First Avenue.
For the past four years, the fridge and pantry have been stationed outside S'MAC, where owners Sarita and Caesar Ekya, along with East Village Neighbors, a local volunteer group, helped provide food for people in need.
Sarita said that her landlord, with whom she has a great relationship — she says he's "one of the good guys" — has been fielding calls and complaints from tenants and neighboring businesses about the fridge and pantry for months.
(Complaints range from people blocking the street to fighting among those seeking food.)
During a phone call, Sarita said that she has been unable to secure another business to take this operation over and was hoping to find a religious or community-based spot, but that has also been proving difficult. So Sunday is the last day for the fridge and pantry; on Monday morning, both will be recycled.
In the interim, starting Monday, donated food will be brought to the Chelsea Fridge or the Loisaida Community Fridge on Ninth Street and Avenue B.
"Hosting the East Village Neighbors Fridge at S’MAC the last four years has made us feel all the feels. We've met so many incredible people and have had a village help keep it going this entire time," Sarita said. "The amount of food being rescued daily and the amount of meals provided to our neighbors by such a strong community who cares has been heartwarming. We know the fridge will be a loss to the community, but we hope to find a new home soon."
She expressed concern for all the daily regulars who depend on the food, meals and supplies.
The fridge debuted on Oct. 7, 2020. Their first attempt was knocked over and KO’d after only three days. The refrigerator was vandalized again in August 2021.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• A Visit to the East Village Community Fridge and Food Pantry (October 2020)
• East Village Community Fridge providing free food outside S'MAC on 1st Avenue; donations welcome (October 2020)
• A Thanksgiving feast for neighbors in need at the East Village Community Fridge (November 2020)
• A new look (and name!) for the East Village Neighbors Fridge (December 2020)
• The East Village Neighbors Community Fridge is up and running again after vandal strikes (August 2021)
20 comments:
No church will take one! Appalling. How about asking the 9th Precinct on 5th Street? Why not. Directly in front or across the street by their parking lot. Sad to see them leaving the neighborhood. There was one on Bleecker, now also gone, and a lot of people used it, a lot of seniors. Never heard of any issues with that one.
Well, that's too bad. It was very convenient for me to donate to that one. But the one on Ninth and B is still there for me to utilize, so that's what I'll do. I love community fridge pantries!
Stacie, Thank you for bringing awareness to our fridge over the years. Anyone who has ideas for a new home for our fridge can reach us at eastvillageneighbors@gmail.com
This is horrible news! I regularly donated almost every week and the people who come are so sweet. It breaks my heart seeing how appreciative they are for such small gestures. It really shows how much of a need there is for community fridges. And this was so well maintained by an excellent staff. Thank you to S’mac for going out of their way, at a risk to their own business, to help people for so long.
Sarita is a saint! Truly one of the good ones -- and she also happens to make the best Mac and Cheese ever!
Thanks to her, her staff and all of the volunteers who kept the fridge full and helped manage the process these past 4 years.
Sarita has been amazing, THANK YOU and your staff! Not only did she provide the refrigerators, she also filled the freezer with SMAC! There are many good people that took what they needed. Unfortunately some bad ones. It's 11 months ago that I painted her refrigerator and knock on wood, the front of it never got tagged! Thanks EV Grieve and Stacie Joy, for always reporting the bad, good and ugly, you're the best and you're a Great photographer Stacie Joy.
This is awful. It got a little harder for me to donate this past year, but it was an important and kind-hearted service for the neighborhood. The need was obvious. Thank you, Sarita, and I hope we hear you've found a new home for it soon.
First, HUGE thanks to Sarita for hosting this fridge for four years. It made me proud of our neighborhood during Covid. I was a heavy donator for several years, switching early on from store-bought items that seemed easy to resell to home-baked cake, pies, cookies, and rolls (all carefully labeled). I still have a bunch of clamshell containers...I stopped when I saw someone take all 20 baggies of cookies I had just dropped off, and started handing out food to the migrants on line at 7th and B instead. The line has pretty much gone away so that's over too. I feel bad but needs shift. I am grateful that Sarita gave me a chance to contribute in the way I could.
I have donated to this fridge many times, love the idea the community helps each other. I guess I have to walk to 9th and Ave B.
The Mosque is right across the street. They may be willing if the church won’t? Just a suggestion.
A huge thank you to the fridge. When covid hit, my clients bailed on me, and food pantries were running low, the fridge and the volunteers were key. Gave back more than I took in the end. Food insecurity was the worst experience of my life and this community was there in the darkest of days.
Massive thanks to Sarita and to East Village Neighbors and to ALL who donated to keep this resource available. And thank you to everyone else who supports the other community fridges & pantries. I hope all of you will have your loving karma come back to you in the best possible ways. All of you are the backbone of community!
A few people asked about the longterm future of the Loisaida Community Fridge on Ninth Street and Avenue B. We're collecting the facts on the situation...
Thank you to Sarita and all the staff!
It would be nice if people stop throwing rotten food and filthy cloths and shoes into that fridge and pantry. You're not helping anyone thar way. Many time that fridge is just disgusting.
It was nice to grab a tangerine or other piece of fruit from the fridge on days when I couldn't afford anything more than top ramen. Thank you.
Could also start a community cupboard like where I live where bags of food and clothing are stored inside.
Anyone know the story with the woman who seems to live on the sidewalk just west of the fridge a few doors down? Have seen her for a couple years here at least, always disheveled and often in distress. I would guess she has serious mental health/addiction issues. Wondering if anything has been attempted to get her off the streets, or if there just are no services for people in her situation.
This was reported on ABC-TV local news Friday night.
MANY thanks to Sarita and the staff there. I've been donating since the beginning and was on cleaning duty for over a year. I hope there will be another wonderful local business who will keep it going.
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