On July 5, 2021, the Lincoln County Humane Society launched the Lincoln County Community Fridge at its shelter in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Community Fridges have been around for several years, beginning in Germany and Sweden in 2012 and now several exist in many countries and across Canada including one in Hamilton and eight in Toronto.
What is a Community Fridge?
Our fridge, like others, is a place where anyone who needs food can come to our Community Fridge and take what they need. We have a large, double glass doored fridge in a new room we built, out of a former cat gazebo. The insulated room is also equipped with 2 pantries to hold dry goods and some limited amounts of toiletries and hygiene products.
Community Fridge Gallery
Why is a Humane Society running a Community Fridge?
For those of you who have seen the Lincoln County Humane Society, you know where it is geographically located within the City of St. Catharines. We are at one of the busiest intersections in the City.
We have operated a Pet Food Bank out of the shelter for 20 years. We recognize that our pet food bank clients sometimes need a helping hand for their pets as well as for themselves. As a part of a strong community and a compassionate city, we felt this was a natural step and we capitalized on our location to further help those in need in the community and the community itself become stronger.
Through a newly forged partnership with Community Care of St. Catharines & Thorold, Community Care will help supply the fridge with what is needed and where they have extra resources.
What can our community do to help?
To continue to provide a steady supply of healthy, fresh and nutritious food, the fridge supplies will continually need to be replenished.
Our community members can assist our efforts by:
- Donating food to the fridge/pantry (see food rules below)
- Making a monetary, tax-deductible donation to the LCHS for the Community Fridge by:
- Visiting https://lchs.ca/donate/
- Mailing a cheque to 160 Fourth Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 0B6, or
- Visiting the shelter
- Volunteering with the Community Fridge team effort by:
- Picking up donated food from community donors/sponsors
- Cleaning the Community Fridge room
- Checking on food and disposing of expired food, turning over inventory and re-stocking the fridge and pantry
What items are needed for the fridge?
What you place on your table is what we need on ours.
How was this fridge made possible?
Several community partners came together to make the fridge possible. We would like to acknowledge our donors:
$15,000
Grantham Lions Club $2,500
Merritton Lions Club $1,000
St. David’s Lions Club $750
We extend our sincerest thanks and appreciate to these clubs and their members for making our vision a reality.
See our Gazebo’s Build and Transformation
| Contact information: | Kevin Strooband, Executive Director Lincoln County Humane Society 905-682-0200 |
| Community Fridge Email: |