Some Summerside community fridge items being taken for resale, say organizers

The people behind the community fridge in Summerside have approached city council about moving it to a new location to cut down on people raiding it when relatively expensive items arrive.

The fridge was opened in early November, one of a number that have been launched recently on P.E.I. They are meant to be places where people in need can go to pick up a few items to help feed their families, with no questions asked.

In a letter to Summerside council that was discussed at Tuesday night's meeting, community organizer Johlene Clow outlined how people are misusing the city's service, taking hundreds of dollars' worth of items as they donated with the intention of reselling it.

People are waiting for the higher-priced items to come and then grabbing them, Clow said in an interview with CBC on Wednesday. 

The possible locations will be presented to council on March 7 .

"I don't expect the police to babysit it and I don't expect the police to monitor it, but my idea is that if the building was around that City Hall, fire hall, police station area, within that vicinity," Clow said.

"I just think it would deter people a little bit more. If you needed the food, you are going to go there and get the food. But if you're just going there and stealing it on a daily basis, I'm thinking that might not happen so often."

The two refrigerators housing the donated food currently sit in a shed on city property on Foundry Street, with the city picking up the bill for the required electricity.

Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher said the fridge may be better suited in a more visible location.

"We spoke yesterday at city council of how we go about helping because that's ultimately what we need to do here."

Not a police matter

Coun. Barb Ramsay, however, expressed some concern about moving it closer to the police station.

"Our police services are very, very busy, as we all know, and for them to monitor that fridge would really not be their position," said Ramsay.

She also noted some of the people who need to use the fridge may not be comfortable with going near the police station.

Ramsay suggested the group might limit the hours the fridge is open, and recruit volunteers to monitor it.

Coun. Carrie Adams acknowledged that police should not be given responsibility for the fridge, but thought moving its location could help.

"It shouldn't be on our police to monitor it," she said, but added: "It might deter some of this activity that's happening."