Who we are

We’ve received several questions we’d love to answer here — about who we are, what we do and how we serve our community.

The Friendly Fridge BX is a community food hub located at 4670 Manhattan College Parkway, near the last stop on the 1 train at 242nd Street and Broadway. We began our work in May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, as the first community fridge in the Bronx. Our mission is simple: to ensure good food never goes to waste while helping our neighbors access healthy, fresh meals with dignity and consistency.

Unlike a traditional pantry, we do not purchase food. Instead, we rescue and redirect surplus food from a growing network of generous partners throughout New York City. Every day, our volunteers collect and redistribute fresh, edible food that would otherwise be discarded. This includes donations from local schools, farms, farmers markets, bakeries, restaurants and pantries. Together, we rescue and redirect more than 70,000 pounds of food each month — primarily fresh produce and prepared meals — and now serve more than 1,800 visits per week.

Our consistent redirection partners include Riverdale Country School, Atmosphere Charter Schools, Marianne’s Pizza, Riverdale Bagels and many more local businesses that believe in community care and sustainability. We deeply appreciate these ongoing partnerships and encourage other restaurants, cafés and food businesses to join us in redirecting surplus food.

Contrary to a common myth, it is perfectly legal to redirect extra food to a nonprofit. Thanks to the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, donors who share surplus food in good faith with a nonprofit cannot be held liable. This federal law protects and empowers businesses to safely donate food instead of discarding it — a win for people, the planet and our shared community.

We are proud to be an autonomous, volunteer-run organization operating entirely on private donations. We receive no government funding or institutional support — every fridge filled, every delivery made and every meal shared happens because of the generosity and commitment of our neighbors and volunteers.

We also want to clarify that we are not associated with Mount Saint Vincent’s community refrigerator, the Riverdale Fridge on Waldo Avenue, or the Riverdale Neighborhood House community fridge. While we deeply respect other local initiatives addressing food insecurity, the Friendly Fridge BX is an independent, grassroots effort with its own mission, operations and partnerships.

In addition to our daily rescue work, we also created and piloted the Friendly Fridge Bucks program, an innovative initiative that allows houseless individuals and those without access to kitchens to receive a warm, ready-to-eat meal from one of our three participating local delis and restaurants. This program supports both food access and small local businesses — a model we hope to expand across the Bronx.

Our work depends entirely on community support, and we need your help to continue. Whether through volunteering, donating or spreading the word, every bit of support makes a difference. Please visit thefriendlyfridgebx.org to learn more or email us directly at thefriendlyfridgebx@gmail.com to get involved.

Together, we’re building a stronger, more connected Bronx — one meal, one partnership and one act of care at a time.

The Friendly Fridge
BX Team