Winnipeg residents step up after thieves steal community fridge

A community organization says it’s feeling the love after a stolen fridge was replaced thanks to Winnipeggers who offered to donate a replacement.
The Spence Neighbourhood Association runs a community fridge, which provides fresh food to residents who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it — but when Talia Green went to fill it on the weekend, she told 680 CJOB the fridge was gone.
“I take a lot of happiness and joy in putting food in there, and seeing (the food) gone the next day, it makes me feel like we’re making a difference,” Green said. “So it was quite sad to come across it being missing.
“It’s a really important initiative. It was actually started by Indigenous youth in the community who noticed that there was an issue with people accessing food.
“There’s a lot of unhoused people in the area who really don’t have regular access to, especially, nutritious food. So this is a really good resource.”
The association published a social media post about the theft and received a flood of messages from people asking if they could help by donating a new fridge.
Green said they took one of the donors up on the offer and had a new fridge installed and ready to serve the community Monday morning.