Hell's Kitchen Gets A 'Community Cupboard,' And Fridge May Follow

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A brand-new "community cupboard" has opened its doors on a Hell's Kitchen sidewalk, offering free food to all who need it — courtesy of a group of neighbors who hope to supplement it soon with a shared fridge.

The cupboard is now open, 24/7, in front of Ryan Health on 10th Avenue between West 45th and 46th streets.

It's the product of months of work that began when Stephanie Kwok, one of the lead organizers, sensed a need for such a space during volunteer shifts at St. Clement's Food Pantry, where lines grew longer as the pandemic dragged on.

"There are a lot of people that do really need more support," she said.

Community fridges popped up across the city over the past year as a form of the neighbors-helping-neighbors volunteerism known as mutual aid. But Hell's Kitchen lacks any — the closest fridges are on the Upper West Side and in Chelsea, where Kwok and fellow organizer Alexandria Julius had volunteered.

"The food turns over so quickly — it’s gone within an hour to two hours," Kwok said of the Chelsea fridge. "They’re doing such great work, but there’s so much more need for it."

So Kwok began brainstorming ways to open one in Hell's Kitchen. Then, in March, a vacant storefront was transformed into the Hell's Kitchen Free Store: a space with a similar anti-waste mission where neighbors could pick up household goods, toiletries and more.

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Chana Widawski, who helped put together the Free Store, had been dreaming about opening a fridge in the neighborhood for months. She helped Kwok connect with Shruthi Velidi, who both later met Julius through the city's community fridge network.

Since March, the group has been canvassing local businesses — many of which have street-facing power outlets — in hopes of finding one willing to host the fridge. While that effort hasn't yet borne fruit, they did secure a donation of two large cabinets — and a sponsor, Ryan Health, who was happy to host them on the block.

With help from House of Good Deeds, volunteers picked up and installed the two cabinets on Tuesday, stocked with their first donation: cupcakes from Billy's Bakery in Tribeca.

By Wednesday afternoon, donations of canned food, pasta, cooking oil and snacks had already appeared.

It operates on a "leave what you can, take what you need" basis, with no questions asked, Kwok said. Anyone is welcome to drop off donations at the cupboard, which is conveniently close to the Food Emporium and Target.

Organizers ask only that donors follow the set of guidelines that lay out which food items are suitable. To learn more about the cupboard and future fridge or contact the organizers, visit linktr.ee/hkfoodshare.

The Cupboard is also taking donations through Venmo and Cash App (hkfridge), and PayPal (hkcommunityfridge@gmail.com). All donations go directly toward stocking and maintaining the cupboard.

Related coverage: Vacant Hell's Kitchen Storefront Transformed Into 'Free Store'