New community fridge at Collingwood Youth Centre tackling food insecurity

The 'Freege-For-All' is a community fridge in Collingwood located at the local Youth Centre (Steve Mansbridge/CTV News Barrie)

A new partnership in Collingwood is working towards tackling food insecurity in the community.

The Freege-For-All is a community fridge. It is one component of Project Butterfly, an initiative spearheaded by the Collingwood Youth Centre to help those struggling to make ends meet by providing easy access to needed items.

"People could be proud when they're struggling, and there's nothing wrong with that," says Lea Pankhurst, the community development director for the youth centre. "So rather than making them have to fill out paperwork or show different pieces of ID, they can just come, help themselves to whatever they think they need, and they can take that away, and there's no one there for them to deal with."

The community fridge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With many people hesitant to publicly acknowledge a need for this type of support, it offers a level of anonymity.

It was started by Ashlin Smith, a volunteer in the Collingwood Community who herself has struggled with food insecurity in the past.

"I had seen community fridges in the states, I had seen them in Toronto, I had seen them in a lot of different places, and I thought our community would really benefit from one," Smith says. "People can kind of internalize shame about asking for help, and it's nice to have the option to just say it's here if you want it."

The fridge is restocked and cleaned three times a day. In addition to food, there is also a pantry that has a wide variety of items, including menstrual products, deodorant and diapers.

Smith came up with the idea in 2020, but it wasn't until recently that she partnered with the Collingwood Youth Centre to host the fridge. The centre provides various programming for youth of all demographics from the area.

"Youth get the opportunity to take from the center what they need," says Pankhurst. "That can be whether they need a safe space, whether they need some job employment skills, whether they need a hot meal or whether they just need a safe space to decompress, and we can offer all of that under our roof."

The centre can see anywhere from 30 to 40 youth on evenings after school. It includes culinary facilities, a recording studio, and a 3-D printer, providing youth access to a variety of supports.

"We've created a space where youth do feel comfortable with each other so that they can get together and be vulnerable in a safe space, and that just creates positive role models out in the community," says Pankhurst.