https://who13.com/news/des-moines-public-library-community-fridge-helping-people-access-healthy-food/

Check out this feature in the Des Moines Register about the library's community fridges!
"Des Moines Public Library seeks to fill in hunger gaps with new community fridges" - December 28, 2022, Francesca Block reporting.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/2022/12/28/community-fridges-open-in-des-moines-public-libraries-to-feed-hungry/69749537007/

The Franklin Community Fridge is open and accepting donations during the library's operating hours. Within two weeks of opening on 12/5 community members accessed the fridge over 80 times, and we're receiving continual donations from our partner Eat Greater Des Moines and local community members. Food rarely stays in the fridge or on our pantry shelves for more than 24 hours, indicating a high need for this service to our community. If you would like to donate please see our attached guidelines or visit our website at www.dmpl.org/dmpl-community-fridges for more information!

We used our seed funding from ChangeX to purchase our commercial fridge, as well as storage containers, a large table, recycling and trash bin, and wall mount for plastic bags. We also purchased felt material to affix to the table and shelving to prevent storage bins from sliding.

Future funding will be used to purchase more storage materials for the fridge, and for other supplemental purchases on an as-needed-basis (including potentially groceries) while we wait for the city to create infrastructure for us to accept financial donations and for the growing season to resume in the spring.

Seed funding for the Franklin Avenue Library Community Fridge will be used to support the purchase of a commercial fridge and materials needed to build the pantry (including additional shelving and infrastructure to protect food from pests), and also support electrical work needed to adapt the library’s east entryway to house the fridge. Funding may also be used to purchase cleaning supplies (which will be stored separately from the food) and organizational materials.

In order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 the entryway will have a hand sanitizing station, gloves, and a cleaning schedule for staff/volunteers to keep the area as sanitary as possible. There will also be signage to encourage community members to sanitize their hands before handling food, and staff/volunteers will be required to wash hands thoroughly before handling food and/or working in the community fridge area. Staff/volunteers will also follow City of Des Moines guidelines regarding COVID-19 prevention, illness, and/or exposure.

The Franklin Avenue Library Community Fridge will benefit the community through partnering with local organizations Eat Greater Des Moines, Iowa Food Co-Op, and the Franklin Avenue Community Garden to address food scarcity and food insecurity within Des Moines’s west side and minimize food waste through food recovery of produce and other healthy food from local stores and vendors. The fridge will also benefit community members by providing nutritious food for free in order to improve the overall health of the community.