👇The Community Fridge, a partnership between The Beet and Coos Bay Library, is in its third year. Our main source of fruits and vegetables has always been South Coast Food Share, which is the regional food bank for Coos and Curry Counties. South Coast Food Share can provide food at no or low cost through two federal assistance programs, TEFAP and LFPA. Until recently, we've managed to stock our fridge and feed the community with these low-cost options, making this very busy program sustainable.

In early March 2025, the USDA's TEFAP Program (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), one of the USDA's core nutrition programs that purchases food from farmers and sends it to food pantries, ended. LFPA (Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program), which provides funding for food banks to purchase food produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination to help support local and regional farmers also ended. While we do budget to buy produce straight from small Coos and Curry County farmers, the Community Fridge cannot be sustained without help from South Coast Food Share.

We'll continue to purchase from local farmers but will also have to supplement with higher-priced trips to the grocery store. Since South Coast Food Share is unable to help as much, our budget will quickly be stretched thin. Despite the challenges, we are committed to maintaining the Community Fridge. We are accepting any monetary donations to support the Community Fridge at either the Coos Bay Public Library or online at thebeetfsc.org.

News Source : https://www.facebook.com/873950308104910/posts/1195522609281010