Brookline Village’s ‘Jennifer Coolfridge’ Community Refrigerator Reopens on Station Street

One month after being deactivated due to health complaints, a community refrigerator in Brookline Village has reopened.

A new version of what volunteers have called “Jennifer Coolfridge” is a smaller unit with a built-in pantry. On Sunday, June 29, individuals from organizations such as Brookline For The Culture, Bowls4Boston, and Brookline Muslim Friends installed and decorated the new community refrigerator outside Jamie's Ice Cream Co. and the coffee shop Brothers and Sisters Co., both of which are sponsors.

The website Brookline.News reported last month that the town's health department had received a rash of complaints from the community about the previous refrigerator's cleanliness and safety. People complained that the refrigerator was being left open, debris was collecting around it, and questions surrounded who was responsible for regular cleaning and monitoring.

Sigalle Reiss, the town's director of public health, told Brookline.News that while the community refrigerator doesn't require permits like food establishments, the department responds when “sanitation issues” or “nuisance conditions” exist.

Following the complaints, the town's health department mandated that a full standing refrigerator would not be allowed at the location. The department gave organizers behind the refrigerator seven days to remove the appliance and required them to create a formalized cleaning and maintenance plan for a new one.

The solution was to install a smaller outdoor unit — about half the size of the previous refrigerator — while building a larger pantry to store dry, nonperishable products.

Zaria Karakashian-Jones, a volunteer who assists with organizing the refrigerator's contents, said the outdoor appliance addresses a community need. 

“The fridge is there to supplement what people can't get at home or what they can't get from the food pantry,” she said to Bookline.News. “I just really don't know how we're able to ensure how everybody has access to food in our community.”