Every other day, Gary Wade walks a few blocks from his home in West Oakland to City Slickers Farms. He says hello to everyone, and hangs out with the chickens. Then he goes to their “town fridge” to grab some fresh greens. If he’s lucky, he’ll also find a home-cooked meal from Community Kitchens’ Home Chef Volunteer Program. The meatloaf is his favorite.
For Wade, 72, the meals are a tastier alternative to the ones he receives from a senior center. Wade also has Alzheimer’s, and the farm is the only place he can walk to without getting lost on his own. Since the meals started appearing weekly in the fridge six months ago, his caretaker Kelsi Dunkelbarger says she’s noticed a shift in mood – he’s a little less irritable, and a lot more proud.
“It’s liberating for Gary. He actually gets to go and choose what he wants. Because if I take him to a store, it’s too overwhelming or looks too expensive,” she said. “It gives him that sense of, ‘Oh, I went and did this myself.’ “
Town fridges popped up all over Oakland during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A decentralized global mutual aid movement, more than half of the fridges are still plugged in nearly three years later with varying levels of upkeep. Now, CK Home Chef volunteers are donating home-cooked meals to five of the nine fridges in food insecure areas. The meals provide ease, variety, and for some, emotional comfort.
“Our goal is to provide a warm and delicious meal that nourishes not only the body, but the soul,” said Community Kitchens co-founder Maria Alderete. “So many of our residents are living through hardships. If we can bring a little bit of love, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
