A community fridge in Brentwood is expanding access to fresh food for Long Islanders 

At the Salvadoran Consulate in Brentwood on a recent Saturday morning, dozens of residents lined up to pick out eggs, milk and produce stocked in a blue fridge just outside the building.

"Food is a human right," said Amanda Sweeney, who launched the community fridge with the help of her partner and family. "We want to give people dignity. We want to put food in the fridge that people will actually eat."

Community fridges, which sprung up across the nation during the pandemic, give people access to fresh food, for free, and operate on a model of support in which communities work together to help each other. The Brentwood site, which opened in October 2021, is believed to be Long Island’s first such fridge.

Locally organized efforts such as community fridges can complement services offered by other organizations, said Catherine Albanese, who is a community advocacy and housing director for the Family Service League. The nonprofit, which has locations in Bay Shore and Central Islip, has more than 60 programs to help people with mental health, addiction, housing and more.

"I think it’s amazing to see community members helping other community members in need," Albanese said. "Somebody in that community specifically may have a way to get to that population better than anyone else could."

After months of searching for a location, Sweeney connected with Consul Henry Salgado who approved the fridge outside the consulate.

The donated fridge was installed in October and Port Washington artist José Flores Chamalé recently painted it.

The fridge is called Eileen’s Free Bodega after Sweeney’s grandmother. The former prison nurse was committed to social justice, said Sweeney, who previously volunteered at a community fridge in the Bronx.

The Brentwood fridge opens Saturdays at 10 a.m. and stays open until noon. Fresh food can run out in as little as 10 minutes, but Sweeney said she keeps canned goods on hand for people who arrive later.

"Take what you need, leave what you can," is what Sweeney tells the recipients.

A minimum of 100 people visit the fridge monthly for food, offering a glimpse at food insecurity on Long Island. According to Feeding America, a nonprofit that partners with local food pantries, more than 89,000 people in Suffolk County and 93,000 in Nassau County are estimated to be food insecure. Community fridges aim to fill the gap.

Sweeney said anywhere from $350 to $500 in monetary donations pour in monthly along with food donations. With community support, she hopes to expand the fridge's hours and access.

She also hopes to show prospective participants what a community fridge can do to transform hunger on Long Island through community-led work.

"I hope to lead the path and encourage other organizations or businesses or restaurants to allow community fridges on their property and show that people facing food insecurity … are not bad people," she said. "They’re just having difficult times, and that could happen to any of us."

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.