Community fridges gaining ground in Chennai

After Besant Nagar, a new community refrigerator was installed in Mylapore, while three more are in the pipeline, in Anna Nagar, Egmore and Korukkupet.

Dr Issa Fathima Jasmine, consultant orthodontist, started Ayyamittu Unn, a community refrigerator at Custom Colony in Besant Nagar two months ago, where people and business houses can leave excess food for those in need. She said the idea started due to the huge problem of food wastage, which is hardly addressed. 

“Starting a community fridge was mandatory, since food waste is a global problem and affects at a socio-economic level. People leave behind all kinds of food items, from idli and sambar to sandwiches and juices. We also interacted with people who use the food items left behind. They say that now they have food, they want a job, to be self-sufficient. We are in the process of finding them suitable employment,” she said, adding that three more such community refrigerators are in the process of realisation in areas like Anna Nagar, Egmore and Korukkupet. 

A few days ago, residents of Kumara Vijayam Apartment teamed up with NGOs Aksaya Paathiram and Viswajayam Foundation to tackle the twin problems of food wastage and street littering. 

“The pavement was like a dumpyard. So, we cleaned it, painted the walls and kept a community refrigerator. The residents of the apartment will bear the logistic costs of running the fridge, which comes to Rs 2,000 per month for electricity. 

We launched on Sunday and on the first day itself, about a hundred packets of khichdi, stored in the fridge were over in 10 minutes,” said Gopalan Ganeshan, Secretary of the apartment complex, adding that they were inspired by Ayyamittu Unn and decided to start a similar initiative in their locality.