The community fridge that could

Apr. 3—After the first attempt at installing a community fridge in Richmond for hungry citizens, the appliance was stolen just days after it was placed outside of Craft Restaurant and Artistry in early March.

Later on that same month, history appeared to have repeated itself when a second fridge inside a constructed enclosure was taken Monday morning.

Ashley Gallaher, the owner of Craft Restaurant, who is the host of the project, shared a post on social media that informed the public of the alleged theft.

"Even though the enclosure David finished just yesterday made the community fridge so heavy it would have taken 3-4 people to move it — the community fridge was stolen again overnight. There are drag marks across the sidewalk and street pavement," Gallaher wrote. "We wish we had words to properly express our disappointment, heartbreak, and frustration, but we just don't."

She stated that the police had been contacted and security cameras would be installed to hinder further thefts of the appliance.

However, just hours later, the community fridge project received a bit of good news when the fridge was returned and was claimed by individuals to have been taken on accident.

"The fridge was taken by accident and has been returned," Gallaher wrote in an update later that afternoon. "We ask that anyone out looking for scrap metal not remove appliances that are in a cute little house and plugged in."

In addition to security cameras, Gallaher added a GPS tracker would be installed on the fridge to track it if it is stolen once again.

Despite the happy ending for the physical fridge's return, Gallaher and project leader David Wilson still face additional challenges to get the project up and going.

According to the organizers, they have received pushback of the project from the Madison County Health Department.

Both parties stated when the health department got wind of the community fridge; staff reached out to Wilson asking for more specifics on the idea to include a formal, written outline of the plan.

At which point, Wilson replied in an email correspondence where he submitted an outlined and detailed plan about the project and stated in the message, "It has come to our attention that there is some reasonable concern regarding the Richmond Community Fridge Project and its safety as it pertains to the citizens of the community.

"It is our intention to establish a community fridge to provide free perishables to underserved families and individuals within the community. The refrigerator will be located on the corner of 2nd and Main Street in downtown Richmond, KY. The location was chosen after obtaining verbal approval and consideration from the city planner regarding zoning, easements, and city statutes, and consulting with Craft Restaurant and Artistry — the business that rents the building located at 200 W Main St. Richmond, KY, who has agreed to provide electricity and space on their sidewalk for their project," Wilson wrote.

Following this, he had several sections that addressed topics such as community food and safety protocol, donation rules, monitoring and cleaning procedures, the host, and liability.

In addition to the plan and project scope, Wilson requested that the health department provide; Copies or links of any statutes, laws, or regulations that may pertain to this initiative, any permits that may be required to operate as planned above, any licensing that may be required to operate as outlined above, a list of any questions or further information you need and a clear and concise bulleted list of any safety concerns that you would like addressed.

The health department told Wilson that there were "several issues and concerns with your ideas how to distribute the food, and the source of food products, that need to be addressed in writing."

But still, Wilson said the group continued to encounter a bit of resistance from the health department when they provided further written plans about the logistics of the community fridge.

"They seemed to think that there was no way that we were going to do this," Wilson recalled previously. "I asked if there was a permit or license that we would require, and they stated there were no statutes written regarding this sort of thing, but for some reason, it could not move forward."

The host stated that the group got the one permit they were asked to — a retail permit — but was still told that there are no regulations for a project such as this one, and more discussions needed to occur.

When asked if the project required any special licenses or permits, the health department told The Register, "there are no permits which would allow the project to move forward in its current proposal."

"However, the MCHD Environmental Branch and the project sponsors are continuing to review and discuss safe options available for the project," the department shared in a written statement to The Register. "The Madison County Health Department is in communication with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Food Safety Branch for any further guidance."

Gallaher and Wilson stated while they have no hard feelings against the health department and understand they are trying to keep the community safe, the community fridge organizers could not help but feeling resistance.

Moving forward, Gallaher said the best-case scenario would be to have a community fridge up and running, safely stocked with everyone happy.

And according to Wilson, the fridge is slowly but surely coming to fruition with plans to get local artists to decorate the appliance and volunteers trained to get the fridge stocked with food.

But before that can happen, Wilson, Gallaher, and codes enforcement staff will meet to address additional concerns.