Community Baking

Where the Bread Goes

After we bake, cut, wrap and label our bread, we distribute the bread to people in our community by bringing it to the WooFridges.

The WooFridges are a mutual aid project that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are 4 locations around the city of Worcester that have a fridge and shelving, right on the street. Their poicy is "Take what you need. Leave what you can."

Here is a link to their website: www.woofridge.org

And here is a link to a wonderful documentary about the WooFridges entitled "More Than a Fridge": More Than a Fridge It was produced by Alex O'Neil, and debuted in Worcester in 2024.

Nearly every time that I have gone to the WooFridge at 44 Portland Street (near the Main Branch of the Worcester Public Library), I have met other people dropping off food or picking up food, and they are always grateful for our participation. I worked at a food pantry for a few years, and I love food pantries. They do amazing work, and I continue to support them, but there is definitely a better vibe at the WooFridges. At the food pantry, I felt a division between the people running the food pantry and the people using the food pantry: one group of people set the hours, made the rules, chose the foods, and collected personal information, while the other group of people could take it or leave it. At the WooFridge, everything seems much more personal, and it feels like this is *our* fridge. This is *us* feeding *ourselves*, as a community. And that idea of us feeding ourselves as a community is very important. We live in one of the wealthiest states in our country, in one of the wealthiest countries of our time, in one of the wealthiest times in human history. We *can* feed ourselves. The need in our community is significant. Federal funds for school lunches have been cut. SNAP cuts are coming. No one is coming to save us, but we *can* feed ourselves! Let's roll up our sleeves and do it!