A Newark-based community organization is now providing daily food deliveries, including fresh produce, to the Maplewood Community Fridge, according to Maplewood Health Officer Candice Davenport.
The United Community Corporation (UCC), which runs four other community fridges in Newark, delivers food to the Maplewood fridge and pantry between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., six days a week. That is the same schedule the UCC utilizes for the fridges in Newark.
UCC is a member pantry of MEND, a nonprofit that provides fresh food to its network of food pantries throughout Essex County. MEND has provided eggs and produce to the Maplewood Community Fridge every two weeks since it opened on November 13, 2021.
“It’s great to have consistent providership, which is what we needed,” said Davenport as part of the Board of Health meeting that took place during the Township Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 1. Davenport thanked Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis for connecting the health department with UCC. Davenport said in an email to Village Green that donations from residents, local businesses, and other community partners are still “needed, welcomed, and very much appreciated. The generosity of our community and neighbors from other towns are what has sustained the community fridge thus far and is still integral to its success.”
You can watch the discussion of the community fridge here, beginning at the 36:56 mark and ending at the 43:00 mark.
Davenport added that a new door for the Maplewood community fridge will be installed by the end of August, at which time the hours it is available will be 8 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days a week. The Department of Public Works will be installing metal shelves in the fridge and pantry, a recommendation of UCC because metal shelves are hardier and more resistant to severe weather.
Davenport, along with Township Administrator Patrick Wherry, met Thursday with UCC and other community partners including Friends of the Fridge to discuss the coordination of food deliveries and donations on the schedule maintained by UCC.
“Really what we want to do for the community fridge and for the residents is provide consistent, reliable food that they know will be there, and not overlap so that there’s not a surplus, and avoid a dearth at the same time,” Davenport said. “Hopefully with all these partners working together, we can make that happen.”
