Local Inglewood grocery store launches fundraising campaign for the Calgary Community Fridge
By Julieanne Acosta, June 13 2022—
Bite Grocer — the only community grocery store in Inglewood — launched its first Giveback for the Greater Good(s) fundraising campaign in partnership with the Calgary Community Fridge (CCF) project.
The initiative began on May 18 and is set to run until June 18 to raise funds to help maintain the food stock in the CCF all throughout the year.
In an interview with the Gauntlet, the operations manager at Bite Grocer, Neil Godsman, talked about Inglewood’s grocer.
“Bite Grocer is a local and independently [owned] store in Inglewood. We also have a cafe [and a] bakery. We’ve got great produce section selection, a lot of enhancement products and local goods,” said Godsman.
CCF, their partner in the fundraiser, was founded in August 2020 and is a mutual aid organization. Their goal is to support individuals who are faced with food insecurity by providing a fridge that is fully stocked with healthy foods and drinks that are accessible 24/7 to the community.
“We found out that [one of our regular customers] was one of the volunteers [at the CCF],” said Godsman. “It’s a completely volunteer-driven thing. They fill that fridge twice a day and it’s emptied twice a day. There are people that travel from all over the city and they get there and it’s an empty fridge, that’s a pretty disheartening thing. We are just trying to do our best to help them keep it full more often.”
To help the cause, Bite Grocer is raising money through different avenues to help the costs of filling the community fridge. The Fill the Fridge Frenzy — a game-show style final event to wrap up the fundraiser — will take place on July 6. Three contestants, a representative from the CCF, the donor that donated the most, and a randomly selected donor will get the chance to participate.
“We have a few different ways that people can contribute,” said Goldsman. “They can come in and make a contribution at the till. They can buy one of our community tote bags and [if you contribute] you are also entered into potentially doing the Fill the Fridge Frenzy which is given to three shoppers. They can fill their cart with 150 dollars worth of goods within 60 seconds.”
The goal of the fundraiser is to raise $10,000 for the CCF and to help reduce the food insecurity within our city.
“The rising cost of everything has made it very difficult. Some Calgarians are having to make a tough choice between food and shelter. Coming out of [COVID-19], we’ve seen inflation and we’re just gonna see more and more. Our goal is to try and create another avenue for people to access,” said Goldsman.
The Calgary Community Fridge works collaboratively with volunteers to stock and clean the fridge. To learn more about the Calgary Community Fridge or to volunteer, visit their Instagram @calgarycommunityfridge. The Calgary Community Fridge is located at 902 Centre Street NE. To learn more about Bite Grocer, visit www.biteyyc.com.