THE PROBLEM

Community fridges are often one of the many facets of mutual-aid, and work to strengthen the community by reducing food insecurity and food waste with little financial risk. These fridges do require some management, which is why they’re usually sponsored by different local mutual-aid organizations, but their ability to function primarily depends on the support they recieve from the community through donations and usage. Because of the decentralized nature of these fridges, it’s often difficult to obtain information about all of the different community fridges in one area—making it the process of donating and retrieving food inaccessible.

OUR SOLUTION

Open Fridge retains the crowd-based nature of community fridges while simultaneously centralizing information to create a seamless experience for the user. The app features a social media and chat component to connect organizations with their target audience, a map to easily locate all nearby community fridges, a mobile payment page so users can directly donate money to an organization of their choice, and a “profile” page for each community fridge that lists its stock and allows users to either donate certain food or place a request for pick-up.