♪♪ (nature sounds) ♪♪ Monika Owczarski: We are in the heart of Des Moines.

We are just north of downtown in the River Bend neighborhood.

And when everything really started shutting down in March of 2020 and a lot of the programs in the neighborhood that feed people every night couldn't operate because it wasn't safe, my neighbors and I really noticed a huge hole.

And it's not new.

The pandemic certainly didn't create food insecurity, but it did exacerbate it.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: I remember listening to a podcast about community fridges popping up in the Bay Area.

And I just texted my friend Aubrey who runs Eat Greater Des Moines.

And I said, wouldn't that be so cool if we had one in Des Moines?

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: This is the fridge.

This is our insulated shelter.

This is what makes sure that the fridge itself doesn't freeze or get too terribly hot.

This is just the weatherproofed structure.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: So you have one side that is pantry.

This was completely full this morning, so things move fast.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: There are rules.

And really the rules revolve around protecting the community.

We really just ask people to give what they would eat.

So people ask me, well what should I shop for and what should I bring?

What does your family like?

What do you like to eat?

What would you give to your children?

There's no waiting period, sign-ups, etcetera.

It's that you feel like you need food, you take the food.

I believe you.

That's it.

There is no qualifier.

And so it is very empowering to see such direct action happening.

I mean, we'll have days where we see 20, 30 cars an hour stop by.

And so it's a pretty utilized resource.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: In terms of the volunteers and our partners, no expired foods, no opened or eaten foods and no alcohol.

We do get lots of hygiene products, diapers, wipes.

When it was really dangerously cold we got a lot of mittens, scarves, things to heat yourself with, blankets.

We really just listen to the folks who are utilizing the fridge.

Monika Owczarski: Soon there will be four community fridges in Des Moines.

These are all places where there's a lot of foot traffic, there's a lot of people and it's going to be really accessible and it's just going to be more options for people to get what they need.

And really what I hope people can understand is that a community fridge is really about mutual aid.

Mutual aid doesn't mean that you're saving someone, it doesn't mean that you're putting up a charity, it means that we understand that we are all connected and we all need to take care of each other.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: I've been thinking a lot about why I do all of this.

I just really realized that it doesn't matter who you are and it doesn't matter what you've done or what you do, you have to eat.

It doesn't matter what language you speak or where you come from, we all have to eat.

And it is a primal and simple and loving way to connect with people that really transcends all of that.

It transcends language, it transcends everything.

And so to me it is an ultimate act of love and of radical love to create a system in which there are no restrictions and there are no barriers and you deserve good food because you exist.

♪♪ Monika Owczarski: And that really is what drives me.

♪♪