By Cheryl Conway
Families and individuals facing food insecurity may find comfort to know that more doors are opening to provide options to fill their pantries and tummies.
Tucked just off a quiet Flanders driveway, a refrigerator hums with purpose—stocked and powered by neighbors helping neighbors and a growing network of volunteers determined to make sure no one in town has to wonder where their next meal will come from. Four years after it launched, Mt. Olive’s Community Fridge (formerly called the Freedge) continues to serve as an open-door pantry for perishable food.
Operated entirely by volunteers and stocked through food and monetary donations, the fridge stands on the driveway at 12 Brewster Place in the Clover Hill section of Flanders. It remains a no-questions-asked source of perishable food for residents in need—and a reflection of ongoing demand as grocery costs continue to rise.
“The idea of food insecurity just wrecks me, especially in the wealthiest nation in the world,” says Dawn Masino of Budd Lake, co-organizer of the community fridge. “No one should have to worry if they have enough food for their next meal. This is a small way we can try to help.”
Back in 2022 right before Thanksgiving, Masino and her two friends —Nicole Spaldo and Kelly Turner — thought something could be done to supplement the food pantry in Budd Lake.
“We wanted it available for all those tasty Thanksgiving leftovers,” recalls Masino.
Spaldo offered up her front porch to place the fridge that was donated to them.
They originally named it ‘Freedge’ because items are free to anyone who needs them and/or would use them. Since then, its name and location have changed a bit, but its purpose remains the same.
“I actually started a new FB page for us to use and it’s called: Mt. Olive NJ Community Fridge,” says Masino. “The other page only allowed admin. to post. I wanted an inclusive page where everyone could post and contribute. We now get posts about status of the fridge, sharing frugal recipes and ideas to keep food bills lower, when possible. We’d love everyone to join us there.”
The fridge is still located at 11 Brewster Place, but no longer on the porch.
“It is now at the top of her driveway, and the fridge has its very own shelter,” says Masino. “Maven Roofing & Exteriors reached out to us two years ago and very generously offered to build a shelter for the fridge. This allowed us to move it off of Nicole’s porch, giving her family and the folks using the fridge a bit more privacy. We are forever grateful for their kindness!”
The organizers and volunteers continue to work as team.
“I run the FB group and monitor that,” says Masino. “I also stop by the fridge just to have my eyes on it every week, but we have amazing volunteers who also rotate through to post updated photos or drop off reusable bags or give it a good wipe down. This is truly a community effort.”
Suggested foods are any that are perishable, she notes.
“Anything you’d put in your fridge; meat, frozen food, milk, cheese, yogurts, butter, fruits and veggies,” she lists.
“I can’t say if some things are needed more than others during these uncertain times,” she adds, offering some advice. “When I shop, I try to get the most bang for my buck while also considering what families might need the most. When I was a single mom, I appreciated easy, so I try to grab frozen waffles, chicken nuggets, French fries, fish sticks, etc. I will grab individual pizzas on sale or Lunchables on sale because I know my sons loved them as a treat.
“I pick up all types of milk, including dairy free,” she continues. “I suggest frozen veggies instead of fresh because they will stay longer. The exception to that is when everyone’s gardens are bursting. We had the most beautiful, generous donations of fresh garden produce this summer! Also, it seems lunchmeat and sliced cheeses are popular, yogurt, juice. I guess it would’ve been easier to say anything and everything will be used and appreciated!”
Items are restocked as they come in.
“We don’t have a set day,” says Masino. “Everything is donation based. Personally, I go shopping when some folks have sent some financial donations. Some other members go when they have some extra money or see some sales. Other times folks may just drop off some random items that their family doesn’t like but they don’t want to waste.
“We not only want to help our community by providing food, we want to also work to reduce waste,” she explains. “I opened a creamer I didn’t love. I wrote the date on it, stuck it in the fridge and a day later when I stopped by, it was gone. Before the fridge, it would’ve been wasted.”
But, as much as it is filled, it stands empty far too often.
“The fridge is donation based and things are tight for many, so folks drop off when they can,” says Masino.
“The unpredictability of donations” has been their greatest challenge, she admits. “That isn’t anyone’s fault. This is a community project, and I believe everyone is helping when they can. We always have volunteers willing to stop by, check expirations dates and throw away anything that needs to be thrown away. I think we all wish it was full more consistently.”
From what she can gather, Masino says more people are counting on donated food from when they first opened the fridge.
“As you know, grocery prices are higher,” she says. “It seems everything is more expensive, which often means everyone’s money is spread a bit thinner. I sometimes get private messages that someone has stopped by the fridge and there wasn’t much in there. It absolutely breaks my heart. That said, when someone is in need and the fridge is empty, they will post on our group and 10 times out of 10, someone will say ‘I have some I can bring you.’ We really try to meet the need when someone is struggling.”
Some Statistics
Masino’s projections on the incline of food insecurity matches with figures reported across the United States, New Jersey and Morris County.
According to the Economic Research Service, 13.5% of U.S. households—roughly 18 million—struggled to access enough food in 2023; in 2024, that number jumped to 13.7%.
According to NJ.gov, about 9.8% of households in N.J.—an estimated 350,000 statewide—experience food insecurity. In Morris County, 6 to 7% of the residents equate to more than 40K people
Recent estimates indicate that roughly 6 to 7% of Morris County residents—more than 36K people—struggle with consistent access to food, according to the Interfaith Food Pantry Network. While Mt. Olive Township’s poverty rate is lower than county and state averages, economic strain still affects local families, particularly as grocery prices and living costs continue to rise.
Advocates note that food insecurity exists in every community, and local, grassroots efforts play a critical role in helping bridge the gap for residents who may not qualify for traditional assistance programs.
Other Ways to Help
Controlling food waste is one way to help bring in more food to those facing food insecurity.
An estimated 30 to 40% of the U.S. food supply goes uneaten or wasted at the retail and consumer levels, according to the USDA, sending millions of pounds of edible food to landfills each year.
Getting businesses to provide their leftover food items is on Mason’s fridge list!
“I would love our donations to grow and be more consistent,” she says. “We have so many amazing businesses in town and I’d love them to get involved with us. I know often businesses have leftover product at the end of the day that is perfectly good, but they won’t be able to use the next day. We would love to have those leftovers. We want to work with them to make it as easy as possible on their end. If they have the donations, we’ll do everything else. We also would be happy to team up with businesses that want to make financial donations.”
There is one business that donates its bagels.
“I think that someone in our FB group goes to one of the local bagel shops and gets their leftover bagels because there are times I go down and the fridge has bags full of bagels,” says Masino. “I don’t know who drops them off or where they come from. Other than that, we don’t have businesses yet. Hopefully 2026 is the year that changes!”
When it comes to collecting leftover food items from businesses, Macino knows the drill.
She used to work at the Morristown Soup Kitchen, which is now called nourishNJ.
“I drove the “rescue van” and would go to local supermarkets and businesses to collect food they had that was in great condition, but they wouldn’t use,” she explains. “Grocery stores routinely over order produce, meat, etc. When they got shipments in, they would pull the “older” stuff from their shelves and put it aside for us. The meat went in their freezers, and the produce and bakery items went into the walk-in fridge which is where I picked it up.
Many would be surprised by the leftovers from celebrations.
“Places like catering halls and hotels often donated food they had left over from events they’d held, be it conferences, weddings and things like this,” says Macino, who often supplied the tools for success.
“As far as collecting donations, we supplied the catering places, hotels, local businesses with foil tins and lids,” she says. “They just put the product in them with the date and I picked them up. For the grocery stores, we supplied totes and they would put the product in there and I would pick that up. We had two sets of totes so I would drop off empty, clean totes each time I picked up full totes. Once everyone gets into a routine, it’s easy-peasy.”
Macino points out that businesses are protected when donating.
“I know some business might balk at the idea of donating, fearing being sued, etc.,” she says, but “I would like them to know they are covered by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (1996). This federal law protects businesses, farmers and non-profits from liability when donating “apparently wholesome” food to charities encouraging food recovery and reducing waste. We don’t want anything to hold them back from joining us in reducing waste while feeding our community.”
Efforts to provide food outside the fridge is growing, meanwhile.
“Some of our friends of the fridge have started a little pantry in Budd Lake,” mentions Macino. “Their FB page is called “Across the Lane” Free Pantry. They wanted to meet the need of non-perishable items the way the fridge does for perishable items. We are currently talking about moving the fridge to the same location as the pantry come spring so that folks can “shop” or donate at one location.
“I would love to have one at each side of town,” she says. “Let me correct that— I’d love to see one in every town. I think people would be surprised how much it would be utilized.”
How to Contribute
“People, not just from Mt. Olive, are always welcome to drop perishable items at the fridge,” says Masino. “If they can’t get to Flanders and are in my area, drop it off to my home and I will get it there.”
Monetary donations are also welcome.
“Financially, I have a number of folks who Venmo me or CashApp me every month or so,” says Masino. “They don’t want to shop or don’t have time and I’m happy to do it. I always send them pics of the fridge once I’ve shopped and also send them pictures of the receipts.”
While the fridge is in Mt. Olive, the giving and taking does not stop in its borders.
“This is not a Mt. Olive only project because this is the only one in the area,” she adds. “We have folks in nearby towns who donate to us both financially and by dropping items off to the fridge and these same areas are welcome to stop by the fridge anytime to see if we might be able to help.”
Anyone with any questions can contact Masino through messenger on Facebook or email her at mtolivecommunityfridge@gmail.com.
