Year-End Moment of Reflection

This year we launched the first solar fridge in our network, with a second planned for release in the spring. Several sites saw upgrades, and we were able to have community gatherings this summer to increase awareness of the Love fridge Network.
We also continued to provide meals from local chefs through our Full Circle initiative.
Love Fridge Network members created an installation at Gallery 400 exhibition "For Each Other" which focused on community care. Photography, printed ephemera, and schematics from the 2+ years of Love Fridge archives were presented in this installation. 
The challenges we faced this year included maintaining volunteer engagement, building community engagement, and general upkeep on the sites themselves. Much of this project is still a work in progress, from which we are continually learning. Our continued efforts in mutual aid as a reliable consistent resource in Chicago have attracted the attention and energy of various NFPs. This has led to discussions about how the Love Fridge program and the community are leveraged for profit and requires ongoing education about the purpose and practice of mutual aid with charitable organizations. 

Looking forward to 2023, we plan to launch new sites and continue to sustain the network. We are also updating our map with an integrated system to get in real-time information via our online map about distribution and issues related to each site. Additionally, we hope to add another solar fridge to the existing network. As always, we appreciate the support and transparency we receive from having a fiscal sponsorship with Open Collective.