CAMBRIDGE, Mass. —
They’re lifelines for those in need tucked away in communities across the country and in Massachusetts: Community fridges offering food with no questions asked for anyone to take.
Each week, students from Lesley University Threshold Program, which educates and creates opportunities for neurodivergent students, work to fill the Harvard Square fridge.
“The first time we did it, we made about 25 sandwiches,” said student Andrew Walker.
“Something healthy, a fruit and then like a sandwich as a full course lunch meal,” said student Nick Rosen.
The students do the shopping, prep work and stock the fridge to help them learn skills that will help them find jobs once they leave the program.
“’Neurodiverse’ is big umbrella term that encompasses a lot of different abilities and disabilities. Some common terms people might here are autism spectrum disorder, anxiety,” said Catherine Horan, director of Career Services Threshold Program at Lesley University.
The students are working together to make a difference in the community.
“Makes me feel good for doing something with the community and we’ve gotten a great response. We’ll be not even finished stocking the fridge and there’s already people lining up waiting,” said Walker.
“Many of our students and alumni go to a program or go to a job and stay there for a really long time and really have wonderful skills, and think about things and think about problem-solving in a lot of different ways that maybe you or I may not think about,” Horan said.