Community Fridges Toronto (CFTO) is a network of public fridges with free

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

run by volunteers in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

with the intent of providing mutual aid to those in need, such as the

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

and people with

food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

. The network was co-created by Jalil Bokhari and his friend Julian Bentivegna to help support the homeless population in the Alexandra Park neighborhood in Toronto. As of May 2022, there are eight CFTO fridges in Toronto. In November 2020, CFTO was forced to remove one of their public fridges in the Parkdale neighborhood by the City of Toronto due to "public safety and accessibility concerns", citing the "abandoned appliance bylaw" meant to protect children "and sanitation issues related to stopping the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

." After the removal, the Parkdale community moved the fridge to another location.

References

Organizational theory Mutualism (movement) Social anarchism Collectivism Organizations based in Toronto Socialism in Canada {{Canada-org-stub