Dartmouth Community Fridge spends thousands to keep up with demand

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The Dartmouth volunteer organization says it now buys nearly $6,000 worth of food each month, which people can grab for free from the community refrigerator.

That's in addition to food that community members and local businesses bring to the Dartmouth Community Fridge, located on the grounds of the downtown church on Dundas Street.

The initiative began several years ago. This is intended to help those struggle with the cost of life.

Ppeople can take food when they need to. The refrigerator is replenished by volunteers several times a day.

“When this food gets delivered, it will probably be gone within an hour,” said Christine Nottegar, who has been volunteering with the organization for about three years.

A bearded man in a jacket puts a carton of milk in the refrigerator. Other boxes are already in stock. — A Dartmouth Community Refrigerator volunteer stocks milk. (Andrew Lam/CBC)

The band's recent Instagram post also states: over $60,000 worth of food The refrigerator was purchased between April 2024 and March 2025. This money mainly comes from fundraising.

Nottegar said the amount the group is spending is significant and demand continues to grow.

“People are really struggling,” Nottegar said. “Affordability is still a major issue for many people.”

Over 60 active volunteers maintain and stock the community refrigerator.

When CBC News visited the location this week, there was a steady stream of people stopping by to get food.

A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid jacket stands in front of a closed outdoor food pantry. — David Alders is co-founder of the Fairview Food Pantry in Halifax. (Andrew Lam/CBC)

It's a similar story at a pair of community pantries in another part of town that mostly sell non-perishable food items.

David Alders, co-founder of the Fairview Food Pantry Project, said demand has increased, especially over the past year.

“Things are moving faster [out of the pantries]“They acted quickly at first, but even more so.”

More than 29 percent of Nova Scotians lived in households reporting food insecurity in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. numbers released in May.

Food Banks Canada's recent annual hunger count report found that over 43,000 visits to Nova Scotia food banks in March – more than 10 percent more than last year.

One door of the street food pantry is open. Inside you can see a range of canned and bagged items, including canned tomatoes and dried beans. — This community food pantry is located at 12 Hillcrest St. It is part of the Fairview Food Pantry in Halifax. (Andrew Lam/CBC)

Nearly a quarter of food bank visits were from people who reported work as their main source of income.

“MI meet a lot of people here [at the community pantries] who say, 'Yeah, I used to donate…now I'm coming, I need to take something,'” Alders said.

He said the group tries to serve the diverse community of the Fairview area by offering a variety of food that goes beyond items like pasta and canned soup.

Back at the Dartmouth Community Fridge, Nottegar said it takes money and a strong community to regularly stock the refrigerator with the amount of food the group receives.

“That’s what it was,” Nottegar said. “It’s about people being willing to support their neighbors.”