Pan-African Connection Bookstore Art Gallery and Resource Center

Dallas’s First Community Fridge Is Now Open in Oak Cliff | Eater Dallas

"In Oak Cliff I found Dallas’s first community fridge—called the People’s Fridge—housed inside the Pan-African Connection bookstore at 4466 South Marsalis Avenue, and it’s already packed with food for those in need. The program works like a Little Free Library: neighbors donate what they can and anyone struggling to get enough to eat is welcome to take food. Organizer Jasmine Coleman says the project grew out of her own hardship—“This, right now, is the hardest part of a lot of people’s lives, their rock bottom,” she tells Eater—and she gathered donations and grants to place the fridge at the bookstore. To keep things safe during COVID-19, the fridge accepts only pre-packaged foods and meals (think instant ramen, frozen waffles, canned goods, bottled water, and other sealed items). Coleman is also seeking businesses to host two additional refrigerators (any storefront with space for a regular or mini-fridge), as well as restaurant and farmer partners to help keep the fridge stocked; donations are currently accepted in person in Oak Cliff and donation pick-up is available, and the group posts updates and volunteer opportunities on Instagram." - Amy McCarthy