RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond community fridge was left empty after it was vandalized over the weekend and all the food inside was stolen.
One of 12 community fridges maintained by local aid group RVA Community Fridges can be found outside Tequila and Deadlifts, a local gym in Carytown.
The fridge at Tequila and Deadlifts feeds about 1,000 people a week with fresh and healthy food.
But a resource that helps so many people was impacted when the fridge was defaced over the weekend. Kerith Rae, the owner and founder of the gym, said vandals left numerous scratches on the front of the fridge and also dumped some of the food out on the nearby road and sidewalk.
The vandals did not stop here. Rae said on Wednesday, the criminals also took all the ripe fruit and veggies from the garden next to the fridge and smashed them. The 55 gallon rain barrel, fertilizer and gardening tools were also stolen.
Rae said she was heartbroken when she saw the damage.
“It sucks because, you know, we want to help and we want people to have access to all of these things and it`s hard to replace all of that stuff on a regular basis,” Rae said.
Luckily, the situation turned around when Rae posted on Reddit about the attack. Almost overnight, the Richmond community replaced everything that was stolen and destroyed and also brought food for the pantry and fridge.
Rae said she is not planning to install cameras after the incident because she doesn’t want people to be deterred from getting food. Instead, she hopes the fridge will be able to expand more so people who need food can have everything they want, from fruit to ice cream.
“As much as the healthy items we put out there and that they have access to, we also try to spoil them too,” Rae said.
You can find a community fridge or suggest a location for a new fridge on the RVA Community Fridges website.
