Zenat Begum Knows Community Fridges Won't Solve Hunger

Issue No. 6: Food, Nutrition, and Access in Our Communities
Words - Cece Hurtado
Photography - Playground youth group

Since the summer of 2020, Playground Youth, the nonprofit sector of Playground Coffee Shop in Brooklyn, New York, has produced two fundraising events, four community fridges, and a free “Take One, Leave One” library focusing on Black, Brown, POC, Indigenous, and LGBTQI authors. This type of community initiative isn't something new for this group. This fall Playground Coffee Shop celebrates four years since it opened its doors. The shop has been a hub for the community. It provides spaces for local activists to organize around poignant issues, and serves as a space for readings, community dinners, cooking classes, monthly writing workshops, a radio station, barista training, a book of the month club, an art gallery, film screenings, and more. 

I chatted with Zenat Begum, owner of Playground Coffee Shop, to ask her what it’s like to provide mutual aid to a community, specifically through her nonprofit’s community fridge project. Community fridges are publically accessible refrigerators that invite members of the public to take what you need and stock what you can. These community-run food sources are popping up across the country, stepping in to support community members who are food insecure where government assistance has fallen short.   

What inspired you to start servicing community fridges? 
A friend of mine, Prisicilla Aguilar, approached me with this idea of doing community fridges. At the time, we had a repertoire of doing community dinners, and pivoting to provide access to fresh produce became one of our biggest concerns. We live in a neighborhood that is deemed a food desert and has a lack of food assistance. The idea of food security is so abstract in this city, it’s only allocated for people who have money.  

Why are community fridges needed, where are they, and who do they serve?
Community fridges are needed because the families we learn so much from need them. For example, immigrants, those who are impoverished, people who have to deal with the direct impact of gentrification driving Black and Brown people out of their neighborhoods. They’re for folks who are essential workers that can't provide for themselves, but have done so much to serve us. The fridges are purposely put in heavily residential neighborhoods so that they can help families, people with children, and those who are living paycheck to paycheck.  

To me, Playground is synonymous with community. What inspired you to develop this project?
I think my team, but also my community. Every time we see those fridges empty, it’s a testament to the fact that it’s working. Folks that approach us now know us by name and I think that alone just speaks volumes to what the project’s impact is. It’s helping people. On my team, everybody is always on board, wants to be a part of this conversation, and wants to help our communities. Being able to be around like minded people is definitely the biggest inspiration for everything I do here.

What is unique about the fridges you’ve created in your community?
I think they’re unique specifically because of how they are presented. The presentation is very neat and we stock these fridges in a specific way. We’re also committed to providing fresh produce. This narrow focus allows us to avoid scattering our thoughts everywhere or spreading ourselves thin. Being able to limit our focus to fresh produce has been important because it helps us meet local farmers and creates this cycle of giving and taking for everyone. It’s cohesive. 

Can you tell us about the responses you’ve gotten about the fridges? Specifically, any stories about interactions with folks helping stock them or folks using them as a resource for food?
We have these two older women who have stopped by the fridge since we’ve had it up and running and they're always mentioning how amazing it has been for us to do this for them. They’ve been struggling to get the basic needs for their families and even the children they take care of. I think just hearing that we created something that gave relief for someone is probably one of the most inspiring things. If we’re able to help, why not? 

There’s an article about how community fridges won’t solve hunger; what’s your opinion on that? 
They definitely won’t. You’re giving someone something, but you’re not also teaching people how to think about food equity. I think for people to understand how to eradicate things like hunger and food insecurity, we have to become knowledgeable about it and spread information on these topics. Ultimately we need farms, we need land, we need to familiarize ourselves with plants in general. So the question is, how do we do this all by ourselves? Capitalism makes it almost impossible. But at the same time, even though they won’t solve hunger, I think community fridges are a step in the right direction. We’re still doing something for our community that, due to the circumstances, needs help right now. To say that we will solve this situation is a stretch, but I think being able to get closer to that conversation is one of the best directions that we can take with this whole project. 

Where do you see this project going from here? How would you like to see this grow or change in the coming months, years, etc.?
I think we just need more support. Our focus right now is trying to keep the fridges we service full. Ultimately, we should have community fridges everywhere. But as long as people know this is one of the solutions that can support them in this uncertain time, it can continue to be valuable. 

Playground Youth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bed-stuy Brooklyn and supports the Bed-Stuy community by ensuring a safe space to exchange art, cultural knowledge, and strategies while tackling a range of community health needs through accessible programs, workshops, and events. Playground Youth is currently taking monetary donations via venmo @playgroundyouth to help supplement its community initiatives. For contact info reach out to youth@playgroundcoffeeshop.com