The free fridge chronicles: what was that?
In my introductory piece about using a Love Fridge, I wrote, and felt a little bad about writing, that I let other people go ahead of me if they’re nearby and looking like they’re there to pick up food, but I get impatient. Usually it’s fine and I should fight those feelings, but sometimes, well, have you ever let someone go in front of you at a coffeeshop because you’re not completely sure yet what you’re ordering, and they go on to order six complicated coffee drinks to carry out, and you feel like a chump? The odd equivalent of that, last night.
As I was biking to find a place to use wifi in the evening (I wasn’t successful, but I did go cool places), I had to check the Love Fridge because it was on the way. You never know. An older man, car nearby, was walking up to it, so of course I let him go. He pulled out a phone and proceeded to talk to a woman, describing what was in the fridge…everything…when it was by far the most crowded I’d EVER seen it…and it was my dreamed-for but almost never seen, filled with past-sale-date Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s items! Premade salads, wraps, deli salads, veggies, fruits, guacamole, even a chicken pot pie, yogurt parfaits (I just remembered I meant to take one, and forgot). I was super-eager to look. But I milled around as he took at least five minutes on the phone (this was right around as I was listening to a news break on NPR, that’s how I know). I did walk up to the pantry part and open the bottom book area — which he didn’t know about, and mentioned to the woman on the phone — and the main pantry, and didn’t see anything I really wanted. So I waited for the fridge.
He walked away and I jumped to it and skimmed through the items and quickly picked six to put in a bag. But then the guy came up again, still on the phone, to put things back, or take more? I don’t know. I took my bag of food and left, hoping something would be left when I returned.
Surprisingly, a few hours later, a decent amount was left! I got a wrap, more fruit, more salads. Plus the pantry was a little better-stocked now — thank you, late-evening donors — and I found some cans I wanted. I took more than I usually do, maybe more than my share, but the fresh items were mostly dated 5/9 or 5/10 (on 5/11) and needed to go ASAP. I took them home and had a spree of trying a little bit of many things. One salad, a full pound of Whole Foods kale quinoa salad, was already bad, but everything else still seemed fine, and will get me through a few days. (I should post a photo.)
