'A major blessing': A Council Bluffs community fridge program fights hunger and waste — but needs more donors

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — A growing community fridge program in Council Bluffs is helping hungry neighbors, but volunteers say the demand is outpacing supply.

The CB Fridges program keeps leftover food from being wasted, and volunteers are now looking for more donations to keep up.

"The need is greater than our food supply," said Nancy Ruffcorn.

Ruffcorn says she and another volunteer, Melissa DeLong, spend about 60 hours each week trying to keep the refrigerator outside Timothy Lutheran Church full.

"Our biggest need right now is actually food donors because I have the workforce to do this. We just need more food donors because our fridge is always empty," Ruffcorn said.

The effort is a partnership with Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue and it's the first of four community fridges planned in Council Bluffs. This week, the church held an open house, where Ruffcorn gave a tour and pointed out recent donations.

"So, if you look at these boxes, cereal came in, because we were totally out of cereal," she said.

Volunteers meet many of the neighbors who use the fridge — people like Karri Stevens, who has a 3-year-old daughter. Stevens was asked whether the extra food eases the rest of her budget.

"It does. There's months that I've had to choose between food and keeping my lights on," Stevens said.

Grocery stores, restaurants and even neighbors who might have leftovers that can be repackaged are encouraged to participate.

Stevens described how it feels to know people in the community want to help.

"Loved," she said. "I used to live on the streets. When I was living on the streets a lot of people looked down on me. And I've noticed that the fridge has — I'm gonna cry again — since the fridge as come into play, like our community is more receptive to helping people."

Ruffcorn recalled a conversation she had while stocking the fridge: "And I said to him 'I'm sorry, all I have today are these pies.' And this man looked at me and he said, 'It's okay. it's better than eating out of the garbage can."

"The fridge has been a major blessing," Stevens said.

To learn more, visit CBFridges.org.

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