Prefigurative Community Building (Part 5)
Feeding Each Other, Freeing Each Other: How to Start a Free Fridge or Pantry Without Power Over
Food is one of the most basic human needs, and one of the most tightly controlled. In a world where grocery prices soar while tons of food are wasted daily, communities everywhere are finding simple, radical ways to reclaim their collective sustenance.
One of the most accessible and powerful ways to do that is through Free Fridges and Free Pantries.
These are public, street-level access points where people can freely give and take food and essential items with no forms to fill out, no IDs, and no gatekeeping. They're about trust, dignity, and mutual support. When designed as Power With coordination patterns, they help communities meet material needs while practicing care, interdependence, and shared responsibility, without hierarchy or control.
You don’t need to wait for funding, permission, or an organization. You can start a Free Fridge or Pantry with a few people, a small budget, and a lot of heart.
Here’s how.
Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a Free Fridge or Pantry
Step 1: Gather Your Core Circle
Find 2–5 people who care about food justice, mutual aid, or community resilience.
No need for formal roles. Just meet and talk.
Use consensus or modified consensus to make decisions.
Make early agreements: No one is “in charge.” Rotate tasks. Avoid centralized leadership.
Resource:
Consensus Handbook by Seeds for Change
Step 2: Identify the Need and the Location
Walk your neighborhood. Ask:
Where is food insecurity visible or invisible?
Where do people already gather?
Where could a fridge or pantry safely live outdoors?
Best options:
Outside a community center, church, business, or residence with power access
Near foot traffic, but not on private property without consent
Start a conversation with local stakeholders. Let the project invite consent, not permission. Collaborate, don’t convince.
Step 3: Choose Your Model: Fridge, Pantry, or Both
Free Fridge: Refrigerated items like produce, dairy, meals.
Free Pantry: Shelf-stable items like canned goods, hygiene products, baby formula.
Choose based on:
Climate (fridges may not be feasible in freezing weather)
Power access
Community needs
Start small. You can grow later.
Resource:
Freedge – Global Free Fridge Network
Little Free Pantry – Getting Started Guide
Step 4: Build or Acquire Materials
For a Free Fridge:
Used fridge (check Craigslist, Buy Nothing groups)
Weatherproof shelter (wooden box, cabinet, or small shed)
Outdoor-rated extension cord or electrician help
Thermometer and cleaning supplies
For a Free Pantry:
Wooden or plastic cabinet
Weatherproof paint or cover
Signage explaining how to give and take
Involve neighbors in building it. This creates shared ownership.
Step 5: Practice Power With Coordination
Avoid Power Over by refusing policing or control of what people take. Instead:
Rotate caretaking duties (cleaning, stocking, checking)
Make all decisions in an open group
Let contributions be anonymous and unmonitored
Encourage feedback and input from anyone using the fridge or pantry
Use shared messaging: “Take what you need, leave what you can.”
Use these tools:
Step 6: Spread the Word (Gently)
Tell people face-to-face first. Build relationships.
Then:
Make simple flyers or posters
Use social media, but keep focus on local reach
Ask nearby groups (mutual aid pods, schools, clinics) to spread awareness
Make it clear: No paperwork. No judgment. Just food.
Step 7: Create a Culture of Shared Care
Sustainability comes from shared responsibility. Invite people to help by:
Donating food or money
Cleaning the space weekly
Sharing it with neighbors
Avoid burnout by rotating tasks and letting people opt in gently. This isn’t charity, it’s solidarity.
Projects Doing This Right
1. The Love Fridge (Chicago, IL)
A decentralized network of community fridges throughout Chicago. Operated by volunteers with a focus on dignity, food justice, and community collaboration.
2. Little Free Pantry (Nationwide)
Grassroots pantries built and maintained by individuals and small groups. Their motto: “Give what you can, take what you need”, captures the essence of Power With coordination.
Why It Matters
Food is the frontline. Every time we meet our own needs outside extractive systems, we loosen the grip of capital. A free fridge is more than a fridge, it’s a node of liberation. It’s where neighbors become co-creators. Where abundance replaces scarcity. Where mutual aid becomes mundane, and dignity is not earned but assumed.
When we organize around food with Power With, we plant the seeds of something bigger: a world built on trust, reciprocity, and the quiet confidence that we can take care of each other.
You don’t need permission. You just need to begin.