NEWARK, NJ — United Community Corp. teamed up with La Casa de Don Pedro to debut on Sept. 19 a community refrigerator that will help raise the level of access to much-needed supplemental food items for Newark residents.
The refrigerator, which is located at La Casa’s 39 Broadway location, is part of an initiative spearheaded by UCC to bring food directly to members of Newark’s food deserts. It is stocked up to five times per week and provides around-the-clock access to staple goods, such as milk, juice, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables at no cost.
“It is important for UCC’s mission to bridge multiple anti-poverty–focused projects and activities to better the lives of individuals and families in this city,” UCC Executive Director Craig Mainor said. “Our goal is to assist all those in this city, regardless of neighborhood and demographics.”
The refrigerator at La Casa is the fourth unit UCC and its partners have installed throughout the city of Newark. One is located in the East Ward at 106 Ann St., another is in the West Ward at 332 S. 8th St., and the third is located in the South Ward at 219 Avon Ave.
For La Casa President and CEO Peter Rosario, the refrigerator will serve as another resource in the nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to address the needs of the community.
“At the onset of the pandemic, we all learned just how pervasive food insecurity is in Newark and across the country. We were compelled to come up with new and innovative methods to combat hunger. Some worked and some didn’t. Clearly, community refrigerators have worked and are here to stay,” Rosario said. “Fostering meaningful partnerships is a critical component of our strategic plan. We are looking to move beyond transactional partnerships to transformational partnerships focused on collective impact, not outputs or outcomes. Access to healthy food is a human right and not an entitlement; if we want to be serious about this work, we need partners like UCC and others to come together.”
The community refrigerator, which was purchased by Amerigroup, came as part of a joint effort between UCC and its dedicated partners and funders, including Community FoodBank of New Jersey, the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey, Clinton Hill Community Action, the New Jersey Children’s Foundation, Newark Opportunity Youth Network and Partners In Health.
“We’re so proud to partner with UCC on the community refrigerator projects. Projects like this keep Amerigroup rooted deeply in the community,” said Anya Nawrocky, Amerigroup’s director of member experience and growth. “It also helps us improve our members’ health by improving a key social driver in health in food insecurity.”
In addition, UCC’s YouthBuild construction students have taken part in all four projects by designing and building the refrigerators’ protective structures from scratch. The students have also installed the refrigerators to be easily accessible for community members.
“Building each encasement for the refrigerators not only provides them with the necessary hands-on training required to obtain their construction certification, but it also provides them with real-life skills such as empathy, compassion and love for their neighbors,” UCC YouthBuild Director Jacqueline Henry said.
The refrigerator will be another tool in UCC’s pursuit to tackle hunger across Newark. Since debuting its first community refrigerator in January 2022, UCC’s refrigerators have provided more than 31,000 meals to the community.
Photos Courtesy of United Community Corp.
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