about

We founded The Love Fridge Chicago (TLFC) during the summer of 2020 in response to the strain COVID-19 had on our city’s food system. Because no matter what’s going on in the world around us, we all deserves access to food regardless of background, citizenship status, or mental state.

Community

At TLFC, we work with like-minded local partners to set up free community refrigerators where our neighbors can donate and access food, toiletries and household essentials. Our cohort currently maintains 17 active Love Fridge sites in neighborhoods including Englewood, Little Village, Pilsen, and Rogers Park.

Sustainability

For nearly five years we have worked toward utilizing more sustainable energy sources, and have reduced our community’s reliance on nonrenewable energy with solar panels at two Love Fridge sites — the Ancestors garden, hosted by Getting Grown Collective in Englewood, and Patchwork Farms in Humboldt Park — with more funding dedicated to upgrade more sites in the near future.

Empowerment

In addition to investing in solar energy, our Culinary Kits initiative distributes pre-packaged food kits filled with portable kitchen tools such as portable utensils, can openers, pots, pans, and camping stoves so our neighbors can prepare meals anytime, anywhere.