Episode 230: Everything is better with community...fridges, with Christa of Material Union

Summary

Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty – Episode 230: "Everything is better with community...fridges, with Christa of Material Union"

Release Date: April 1, 2025
Host: Amanda Lee McCarty
Guest: Krista Clark, Founder of Material Union

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Introduction: The Epidemic of Main Character Syndrome

Amanda Lee McCarty opens Episode 230 by delving into the concept of Main Character Syndrome—a term originating from social media describing individuals who view themselves as the protagonists of their own life stories, often neglecting empathy for others. She critiques how modern media, including franchises like Star Wars and The Hunger Games, perpetuates this self-centered worldview. Amanda highlights how this mindset exacerbates issues like consumerism and lack of community support.

Notable Quote:

“The lack of empathy that can often come from main character syndrome...you’re not really thinking out of the world outside them.” – Amanda [00:25]

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Personal Reflections: Amanda’s Journey Through Hardship

Amanda shares her deeply personal experiences with homelessness during her teenage years, emphasizing the critical gaps in the U.S. social safety net. She recounts living without a permanent home, struggling to afford food, and the emotional toll of fearing for her child’s safety. Her narrative underscores the necessity of community support systems, setting the stage for the episode’s focus on mutual aid initiatives.

Notable Quote:

“If you wear clothes, you need to listen to Clotheshorse.” – Individually Wrapped [User-Submitted]

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Introducing Community Fridges: A Beacon of Mutual Aid

Transitioning from the challenges of individualism, Amanda introduces community fridges—public refrigerators offering free food to those in need, accessible 24/7. She describes them as essential elements of mutual aid, allowing anyone to both contribute and receive resources without barriers. Amanda expresses her emotional connection to the topic, reflecting on how such initiatives could have alleviated her own past struggles.

Notable Quote:

“These are mutual aid at the most basic level.” – Amanda [05:30]

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Interview with Krista Clark: Building Community Through Fridges

Krista Clark, passionate advocate for community fridges and founder of Material Union, shares her journey of establishing a free fridge in Austin, Texas. Starting with a modest setup, Krista explains how her initiative evolved into a significant community resource attracting over 10,000 visits annually. She discusses the logistical aspects of maintaining a community fridge, including funding, permits, and suitable refrigeration units.

Notable Quote:

“I didn't even know any neighbors until I built the fridge part of this.” – Krista Clark [38:17]

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Practical Steps: Setting Up Your Own Community Fridge

Amanda and Krista provide a comprehensive guide for listeners interested in starting their own community fridge:

1. Choosing the Right Fridge: Krista recommends garage fridges or fridge-freezer combos, especially in hot climates.
2. Funding and Fundraising: Utilizing scrap materials, scratch-and-dent sales, and community fundraising campaigns to afford fridges (~$800).
3. Location and Accessibility: Selecting high-traffic areas and ensuring the fridge is easily accessible to those in need.
4. Maintenance and Community Involvement: Building a support network through local groups like ATX Free Fridge to share responsibilities and sustain operations.

Notable Quote:

“It doesn't have to be like a full-time job.” – Krista Clark [77:56]

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Overcoming Skepticism: Trusting in Community Goodness

The conversation addresses common fears and skepticism surrounding community fridges, such as concerns about misuse or theft. Krista emphasizes the importance of trusting community members and highlights the overwhelmingly positive interactions she has experienced. She shares stories of unexpected kindness, such as individuals using the fridge to support larger groups or even forming meaningful relationships through the initiative.

Notable Quote:

“There are hundreds of people that love me and literally look out for me.” – Krista Clark [45:58]

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The Transformative Power of Community Fridges

Amanda and Krista explore the profound impact of community fridges beyond mere food distribution. They discuss how these initiatives foster a sense of community, reduce stigma around food insecurity, and encourage sustainable practices by minimizing food waste. Krista shares heartwarming anecdotes, including how the fridge facilitated life-saving support and unexpected friendships within the community.

Notable Quote:

“One fridge, 10,000 people visited in a year…it really was such an eye opener.” – Krista Clark [43:22]

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Conclusion: Building Hope Through Collective Action

Amanda concludes the episode by reiterating the importance of community-driven solutions in combating individualism and systemic failures. She encourages listeners to take actionable steps, whether through starting a community fridge, volunteering, or supporting mutual aid organizations. The episode ends on a hopeful note, highlighting recent positive court rulings and local electoral victories as signs of systemic resilience and the potential for collective good.

Notable Quote:

“The main character doesn't have to worry about the impact of these clothes because they are destined to have them all.” – Amanda [20:00]

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Key Takeaways:

• Main Character Syndrome contributes to societal empathy deficits, exacerbating issues like consumerism and lack of community support.
• Community Fridges serve as critical nodes of mutual aid, providing accessible resources and fostering community bonds.
• Practical Implementation involves choosing the right equipment, securing funding, and engaging community support.
• Positive Community Interactions often outweigh fears of misuse, leading to transformative personal and collective experiences.
• Collective Action is essential for building resilient communities capable of supporting all members.

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Resources Mentioned:

• Krista Clark’s Instagram: @kristaclark (Link in show notes)
• ATX Free Fridge Project: www.atxffridge.com (Link in show notes)

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Support Small Businesses Featured in This Episode:

• Spokes and Stitches: Inclusive pattern making and sewing studio – @spokesandstitches
• Selena Sanders: Upcycled clothing – @selenasanders
• Shift Wheeler: Sustainable fashion – @shiftwheeler
• Late to the Party: Vintage statement clothing – @latetotheparty
• Dylan Paige: Ethical lifestyle brand – @dylanpaige
• Salt Hats: Sustainable hats – @salthatss
• Thumbprint Detroit: Fair trade marketplace – @thumbprintdetroit
• Vagabond Vintage DTLV: Vintage clothing and decor – @vagabondvintageltlv
• Republica Unicornia Yarns: Handmade yarns – @republicaunicorniarns

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Final Thoughts:

Amanda and Krista emphasize that small, community-driven actions like establishing a community fridge can have monumental impacts on both individual lives and the broader community. By shifting away from individualism towards collective support, listeners are encouraged to engage in mutual aid initiatives, fostering a more empathetic and resilient society.

Notable Quote:

“If you haven't like been Main character syndrome…Stop viewing ourselves as the main character, but instead just one character in a large ensemble cast film.” – Amanda [122:00]

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Thank you for tuning into Clotheshorse!
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share with your friends. Your support helps us continue to decode and demystify the fashion and retail industries.

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Transcript

[Amanda]

Welcome to Clothesforce, the podcast that gleams. A combination of the Internet, Star wars, maybe also the Hunger Games, depending on your generation and late stage capitalism for main character syndrome. And it's a problem. We're going to talk about it in today's intro. I'm your host, Amanda, and this is episode 230. Main character syndrome is an Internet term or like a social media term. And it refers to the tendency to view oneself as the protagonist of their own life story, AKA the main character, often at the expense of others. And it can be associated with self centeredness, a lack of empathy, sort of just this like self absorption. Right. And you know, I've read gazillion think pieces blaming social media for this because it kind of gives us all this illusion that we are the stars of a story and that story is about us and it's the only story that the world sees. I don't know, There's a lot to be said there. I think that's part of it. I think the social media perhaps encourages viewing oneself as a main character, but I also think we consume a lot of media like films and books and television shows growing up that often feature this protagonist who has been sort of chosen by destiny to change the course of the universe. I always cite Star wars as an example, but you know, it could be the Handmaid's Tale, it could be Hunger Games, it could be any number of video games etc that you have consumed in your life that kind of paint the idea of this one very important person and everyone else around them is sort of like set dressing, right? Anyway, the lack of empathy that can often come from main character syndrome when you are viewing the people around you as props or just. Well, another thing called NPCs. This is a video game term, but it's made its way across social media. NPCs are non player characters. And for those of you who are not big video Game enthusiasts, NPCs are the other characters that aren't you in a video game. So for example, let's take it way back to perhaps a video game that many of you are familiar with, either from playing it or from seeing one of the films adapted from it. And that is Super Mario Brothers, right? So when you're playing the game as Mario or Luigi, that's the main character, right? But the Princess and the Koopas and every other creature you encounter, even Bowser, the big Baddie, those are NPCs because they're not you, right? They're not there to change the fate of the this world that you're playing in, you are, right? And so they're just kind of props or obstacles. And unfortunately, that's kind of where humans are right now, where not everyone, not all people, but many people, whether they realize it or not, are seeing themselves as the star of their own story. They're seeing themselves as perhaps even the one person who can change the fate of the universe. Or maybe they're like, that's just too much responsibility. I just wanna make lots of TikToks at Target, you know, but either way, they're not really thinking out of the world outside them, right? Unless it relates to them directly. And it's easy to lack empathy for humans, animals, our planet as a whole when everyone and everything around you doesn't feel real. Or when. When you think you were chosen by fate to save the universe or, you know, maybe something less heroic like make all money or have the most followers on social media or own the most Funko Pops, whatever, whatever it is. But here at Clotheshorse, we're avoiding all aspects of main character syndrome by focusing on how we can do good things during difficult times. And this episode, part of that occasional recurring series about that. We're going to talk about another seemingly small thing you can do as an individual that has major impact on your community, and that's community fridges, also known as free fridges. These are public refrigerators that are accessible 24 7, providing free food to anyone in need. Anyone can add something, anyone can take something. It's mutual aid at the most basic level. And this week we're gonna talk to someone who is extremely passionate about free fridges. Seriously, When I knew that I wanted to do an episode about this, that I knew in my deep, deepest part of my heart that there was only one person I could possibly have this discussion with, because literally no one would be as passionate about this topic as Krista. Krista Clark of Austin, Texas. Christa is an active part of the slow fashion scene in Austin, and she's even launching her own textile recycling company called Material Union. But today, we're gonna talk about all things community fridge. That includes how to get a fridge started in your community. We're gonna cover all of the nuts and bolts, from electric bills to permits to the best kind of fridge to use and even just like, how it all works. We're gonna talk about the best things to stock in a community fridge and what to skip. That's for all of us who maybe already have a community fridge in our area and wanna help out, but are afraid of putting the wrong things in there. We're also going to talk about these squishier but just as important things like the impact both personal and community wide that resources like this have. And we're also going to talk about what Krista has learned along the way about humans community and the importance of compassion and care. Basically we're talking about the exact opposite of main character syndrome, except maybe the main character of this story is a refrigerator. And I have to say I found myself feeling quite emotional in a good way while we were recording this conversation and then again while I was editing it. There have been many times in my life when I was hungry and broke. As a teenager, I was homeless for an extended period of time. And yes, I'm intentionally using the term homeless versus unhoused because I was able to move from couch to couch or really more like my friend's bedroom floors. But I had no home, no place where I felt safe, loved and secure. And that is what a home is, right? Having no place to live, no place to be safe, no place to be cared for. That also meant I was hungry. My lack of a permanent place to live was sort of like a well known secret at my school. Even teachers knew. But I think everyone sort of tacitly agreed that it would be best to just let me finish school rather than put me in the foster care system. And I'm sure if things started to look really bad, someone would have reported this to cps. But it just seemed like everybody was like, you're getting so close to being able to go away to college, let's just like keep this going, right? This meant I couldn't apply for free lunch or any other kind of food benefits because as far as the government knew, I lived at home with parents, right? The trade off for my freedom from a group home or a weird foster family situation was that I was hungry. And maybe being in foster care or group home would have been better for me, but it was too scary. Perhaps because my entire life it was something that my mom sort of propagandized towards me. Anytime she was upset with me, she would threaten me with me going into foster care and all the bad things that would happen to me. And it was scary. And so to me, being free but hungry, fair trade off. I had a minimum wage job at the mall, obviously only went so far. Plus legally I could only work so many hours per week because I was underage. So forget about any niceties or even necessities. I mean, I was bumming menstrual care products from the school nurse, just sometimes just using paper towels or whatever was around. And then there was food, right? If I could have had access to a community fridge or any of the number of other mutual aid things that exist now, my life would have been easier. And even as an adult, especially when I was working retail, making just over minimum wage and had a toddler of my own, food was always a luxury for obvious reasons. Feeding my kid was a priority, right? Which sometimes meant there was nothing left for me. And despite that, I made too much money to qualify for snap, which is food assistance here in the United States or any other benefits. Because here in the US the social safety net is not as wide and accessible as one might imagine. I mean, I think of it all the time. Like, I got a raise at my job, it was $1 an hour, which meant if my job, my retail job at Urban Outfitters actually scheduled me 40 hours that week, I would make $40 more before taxes were deducted, right? At that point, I had been getting free daycare assistance, which meant Dylan went to daycare for free. And even with that, we still were barely getting by because, you know, making like $8 an hour and raising a kid and living in a city, it's not very much money, right? So when I got that $1 raise and now I was making $9 an hour and in theory could have up to 40 more dollars a week before taxes were deducted, I lost my daycare assistance. So suddenly, daycare was going to be anywhere from five to ten dollars an hour. Well, if it was ten, I was running a negative. That was more than I got paid at my job, and it was 5. I was left with $4 an hour before taxes to live off of. And I can see how in that situation, it makes you ask yourself, how why am I still working, right? Because the system is broken, right? And it doesn't support you growing in any way. And I was lucky enough at that time. Talk about the kindness of people in your life, caring for others, empathy, just your community as a whole. Dylan went to a daycare in a woman's house, a woman named Cindy, who was amazing, still is amazing, a very charismatic and hilarious person. And she had a whole bunch of kids who came in there, I don't know, like maybe eight, all roughly around Dylan's age. And then she had two sons of her own. And all of us, for the most part, were, you know, struggling to get by, like, financially. And there were a lot of kids on, you know, this sort of daycare assistance thing. And she told me Listen, Amanda, I know you can't afford me to pay the full rate. I'm gonna charge you $1 an hour for daycare, and in exchange, you just need to bring Dylan's food every week. And let me tell you, we would never have survived, I would have never continued to move forward in my life and my career if it hadn't been for Cindy caring for us. And these are the things that make me think so much about how even we as individuals can do these things. Sometimes so small, seemingly so small, right, that change other people's lives. Because if Cindy hadn't off made that offer to me so generously, while I wouldn't have probably moved into the career that I have, I certainly wouldn't have been able to give Dylan the opportunities that they have had. I wouldn't be able to pay for Dylan's college tuition right now. You know, there would be just all of these things, right? And I'm just so grateful for that. And I tell you these stories not to make you feel bad or make you feel sorry for me or anything like that, but rather to just illustrate for you the humanity that exists all around you and how we fit into that, right? How we can help others around us and be kind of aware of what's happening around us. Because sometimes people who are hungry or struggling or afraid or don't have anywhere to live, they're not obvious, right? And I think that unfortunately, a lot of the myths around public assistance, around poverty, around all of these issues, they create this sort of caricature of what poor is. And every couple weeks I see some stupid ass post on some social media platform or another that is someone posting a picture of like, nice cars outside a food bank and being like, see, this is why I'm not donating food banks. Because rich people take advantage of them. And it's like, dude, you don't know what's happening. That person might live in that car, right? That person might be like, this car is the only thing, because my car payment is so high, only thing I can afford. It could be that this person paid that thing off. It could be that that person bought it used. There are any number of reasons they could be in someone's car that they borrowed, honestly, to go get food. We're going to talk about food banks and some of the accessibility issues around them in our conversation today. So I'm not going to go into it too much, but it's just your reminder that, like, you can't judge someone's life by their external appearance. When we were at our poorest. I lived in such fear that someone would take Dylan away from me because I could feel people shitting on me every single day for being poor. And single people would be mean to me at the drugstore or on the bus if I had the luxury of taking the bus that day, or at the grocery store or any number of other places where people judged me in this century for being unmarried and having a child. And I lived in such fear that if people knew we were poor, they would take Dylan away from me. And so we were always so clean, so well dressed, so put together everywhere we went, Even though at home I was like, ugh, we're gonna be eating quesadillas for the next three weeks because that's all the. All we have is tortillas and a little bit of cheese, and it's all we can afford, right? So I'll just tell you this, all of these things, because I think we all can use a little. Well, one, I think many of us want to feel seen, and probably do feel seen when I share stories like this or my guests share stories like this. But also for those of us who this is a. This is a life we don't know. This is a great opportunity to learn what it's like, right? So anyway, I think a lot about how sort of inaccessible and complex the social safety net here is here in the United States. Because, you know, the myth out there is that, like, it takes care of people and it's so great that people live off of it. Right? If you ask anyone here in the United States what they think of programs like food assistance, cash assistance, Medicaid, disability benefits, etcetera, you'll get a mix of responses, but they're low key, predictable. There are going to be those who falsely think that these programs are too generous, that people take advantage of them, that people somehow live a lazy, idle life of luxury on them. If you believe that, I'll tell you, you've fallen for 50 years of Republican spin, popularized by Ronald Reagan in his first run for presidency, where he sort of invented the Welfare queen, which is a myth. And there's ample reading about that out there on the Internet. Just go do a little search for Ronald Reagan, Welfare Queen and enjoy. Enjoy the building rage that you will. You read about this. Others, they might have no experience with these programs, but they feel glad that they're there and they find comfort that there is a safety net at all and probably assume that the safety net and these programs are more generous and accessible than they really are. Because you don't know how shitty they are until you need them. And that brings me to the third type of opinion that tends to exist in the United States about these programs. People like myself who have experienced the reality firsthand, the hoops you jump through just to apply the very little bit available to you and the work you have to do to keep that. The reality is that if you are making minimum wage, which we know is not a living wage, and it's even more not a living wage if you have children, if you're making a minimum wage and you're working close to full time, you probably no longer qualify for any help. So no, no one is living this high quality of life off of these programs. The irony of the whole thing is of course, that study after study, and we've talked about it here on Closed Source in the past, has indicated, and these are government studies, by the way, has indicated that large corporations like McDonald's, like Walmart, like so many other companies that really rely on paying low wages to their store staff, their restaurant staff, warehouse staff, even those companies that rely on those low wages to, you know, really drive profits for their businesses, they're also relying on the government providing assistance to these people, whether it is Medicaid or SNAP benefits. The irony of course, even with someone like Walmart, is not only is Walmart underpaying its employees to drive profitability, it's probably also underscheduling them so they're not getting 40 hours a week, which does keep them eligible for these programs, but also ensures that they are broke and struggling. Not only is Walmart really basically relying on the social safety net to subsidize its own business to meet profitability, it's also then accepting SNAP benefits and other government assisted payments in its stores as people buy food and other necessities with it. A company like Walmart is just really making out, as they say, like a bandit, thanks to the social safety net, while the people who need this assistance are not thriving at all. Early humans lived in communities because it increased everyone's chance of survival. It provided protection from predators, more consistent access to food via hunting and gathering together, like pooling those resources. And of course, the shared care of children and vulnerable members of the community. Community could be shared, right? And so it just made everybody safer, more well fed and better cared for. And everyone felt supported. And also like to be honest, even as an introvert, there's something nice about being around other people, right? Well, over time we formed villages and towns and cities and then eventually governments to do the Same thing. Pool our resources so that everyone could be cared for and protected. There have been failings in those systems. Some governments are doing better than others. But here in the United States and in other countries, I'm sure in 2025, so many people who seem to forget that we all thrive when we work together, they're like, hey, you should just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and take care of yourself. I don't know what happened. And like I said, maybe this is just an American thing, a Western thing, I don't know. But individualism is the name of the game. Aka, if you want to give it a more Internet cool name, main character syndrome. It's basically like, trust no one, isolate yourself, look out for yourself first. When someone else needs help, it's probably their fault. As someone said in a comment section on a post of mine on Instagram recently, it's probably because these people made irresponsible decisions, which I could talk about that for, like, three hours. You probably don't want to hear it. But I can assure you that idea that others made irresponsible decisions and now they're having a hard time. That's just another example of this individualism, this bootstrap rhetoric that we've all fallen for for so many years. And of course, when you're the main character, when it is all about the individual first, you also forget to take care of the others around you. Right? We just stop functioning as a community. And to be honest, this one's for Julie, if Julie still listens. This main character syndrome actually plays out in fast fashion, because first we have the executives of these companies being kind of like, who cares about the garment workers and the retail workers and really any of the people working within this industry? Who cares about the planet? The focus here is me and my mission to be super rich and successful at selling clothes. But even on the consumer side, we have a little bit of main character syndrome. Not. And I'm not saying the people who are oblivious of the human and environmental impact of fast fashion, they just don't know yet. And I also don't think the main character syndrome can be found with the people who are just trying to stay clothed and feel good about what they're wearing, right? Because so many of us struggle in a world where wages are not keeping up with the cost of living increases. Sometimes you just need some freaking clothes, right? And you need them in your size and you need to feel good about them. I'm not talking about those people either. I'm talking about the People who know the truth about fast fashion but still buy 50 articles of brand new clothing every year. I'm talking about the people who place haul orders from Shein or Temu, even though they know these companies are bad in so many different ways. I'm talking about the people who feel justified in buying the Shein or Amazon knockoffs of art and designs from small businesses, even though those things destroy small businesses, right? These people who are doing this are showing all of the symptoms of main character energy because they are shutting off any empathy toward the human impact of fast fashion. And really fast fashion thrives when we're all just main characters in our own movie because that movie requires wardrobe and lots of it, right? The main character doesn't have to worry about the impact of these clothes because they are destined to have them all. Like, that's the plot of this movie they're starring in, right? It's all about them and their destiny and their specialness, their story. This destiny is more important than anything else. And so they don't need to think about the impact of these clothes because maybe the impact isn't even real if everyone else around you and everything else around you is just sort of like props, these NPCs. I'm still alive here to tell you about free fridges and fast fashion and main character syndrome. And a couple weeks ago, I explained to people on the Internet what bitch eating crackers means. I'm still here to do all of those things because of many humans who were motivated by empathy, by a sense of duty to their community, and an innate desire to do good things for strangers. My cancer treatment as a kid was not something that my teenage mother could afford. My mom was literally 19 years old when I was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer that lots of kids did not survive back then. Now the survival rate is about 70%, but it's still a pretty rare cancer. Fortunately, I received the best care possible thanks to a combination of Medicaid, thank you, American taxpayers, and two organizations, four Diamonds and Children's Miracle Network. They paid for my treatment. In a world of main characters, of individualism at all costs, I wouldn't be here because there was no way I was going to bootstrap my way out of cancer. Now, I suppose we can all agree that my own experiences have made community, care and compassion even more important to me. And that's true, I'm sure. But I don't think people need to experience suffering and trauma to care about others. I don't think It's a toll you have to pay. And then you got this, like, awareness of the importance of these issues, right? They're important no matter what. I think care and compassion, a desire for connection and community, these are innate to humans, to all of us. No matter what our stories have been so far. And really, in a world of main character syndrome, we're actually denying our own humanity, sort of censoring our hearts, forcing ourselves into this starring role that is very unnatural and uncomfortable for all of us. In fact, I think many of us want to do something to help others, but we just don't know where to start. And the thing is, there is no one size fits all way to make a positive impact on the world. For some of us, it's going to protests. For others, it's calling our representatives, teaching others how to sew, sharing food, volunteering our time, organizing a meal train, or even just contributing a meal to a meal train, picking up groceries for our neighbors, driving a friend to a doctor's appointment, registering people to vote, being poll workers on election day, donating money, fundraising. Our help, our support for our communities can come in so many different forms. It's practically an infinite list at this point. There's no, once again, there's no wrong or right way to do it. Just do it. Sorry, Nike. You know, we hate to talk about Nike in any positive way here, here on Clothes Horse. But all of these things matter. And sometimes we just. We just don't know where to begin. Because maybe that list of things we could do just feels so long and we don't know what to choose. Or maybe because we're afraid of doing the wrong thing. Maybe we're afraid that what we do won't matter. Maybe we think our contributions won't be enough. But as I have been saying for a while now, even the smallest actions can be radical, revolutionary, and impactful. If you are working on something in your community that you think others could replicate where they live, get in touch with me because I want to continue to share these ideas all year long. Okay with all of that, with this intense introduction, let's jump into this conversation with Krista, which I know you're gonna love, because starting your own community fridge or pantry might be the way you're gonna make an impact in your community. Or maybe it will inspire you to get involved with some other people in your community who are doing something else. I don't. Either way, I think you're gonna get excited about how you can take a part in helping the people around you. So let's give it a listen. All right. Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. Hi, I'm Krista Clark. I live in Austin, Texas. And one of the things I do is I host a free fridge out the front of my house. I got really lucky in that I bought a house in 2020, right before the boom hit. I like to joke, I, like, bought the last affordable house in Austin. Feels real. And, you know, and I was able to get an FHA loan, and so I could actually, like, you know, with a small down payment, secure this place. And I. I quickly realized what a huge need there was for the community to support each other. And I just so happened to kind of be in this golden spot where I'm on two main roads and, like, there's gas stations and an intersection right next to my house. And so I kind of, you know, was like, we should do this. We should host a fridge here. And it's kind of been this, like, amazing blooming process over the last four years. And I'm so excited to talk to you about that.

[Amanda]

I am excited to talk to you about it because when I was thinking about all of the different ways I wanted to show this community that they could get involved and make a difference this year in their own home, you know, and community fridge was one of the top things I thought of, and I immediately was like, there is only one person who I can talk to about this, and it must be Krista, because you. The level of, like, passion that you bring to this community fridge and just the impact it has had on your personal life. Like, I want everybody to have something in their lives that makes them feel this way, because it is, like, no joke. And I was like, there is literally no one on this planet who could get people more excited about community fridges than you. So I'm excited for us to share this. So why don't you start with, like, okay, what got you started on your, like, community fridge journey? I mean, yes, you literally bought the last affordable house in Austin, which is no joke, because it is just, trust me, whatever you think it is to buy a house in Austin, it's way worse. Um, I know that that, like, enabled you to sort of, like, have the fridge, but, like, were you thinking even before you bought the house, like, wow, I'd like to have a fridge someday? I mean, not a personal fridge, a community fridge. We all want a personal fridge. But, like, where were you? Like, what made you, like, this is the moment. I'm going to do this.

[Krista Clark]

I think. I think, like, many People Covid really radicalized me in this way. I, you know, I would like to say, like, part of why I was able to buy the house was because I moved in with my parents when Covid actually it was. I was going to stay with them for like a month. And then Covid happened. I was like, I guess I live here now and I kept my job. And so I was like, for the first time in my life, I didn't have rent and I could save up money.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

You know, ended up buying this house with the entirety of the $14,000 I had in my bank account.

[Amanda]

I mean, that's amazing. Like, that is like a weird, like, listen, for many of us, the pandemic was like a life changing thing. In a good way. Even though you would hate to say it that way. Like, the changes that it forced out of us maybe led us on this trajectory that we're on right now. In a good way.

[Krista Clark]

Absolutely. Yeah. And it was, you know, as, like, I think as a white person, I spent a majority of that year reflecting and listening and reading and attending the Black Lives Matter protests and seeing and like, really trying to, like, to really put myself out there and understand these systemic issues in a way that I had just been blind to and never really, like, thought about. And I had to go seek that. And the fridges, I started seeing, you know, those pop up and the articles and whatnot, the ones that popped up in New York and Brooklyn and la. And I was like, this is cool. Like, this is this very accomplishable thing that has an impact that's so much more broad than anyone could imagine. And around that time, I got really. I don't really got into like, Buckminster Fuller's work. He was kind of a, you know, an interesting kind of like, idealist and had some cool ideas, but he would have this concept of a trim tab. And a trim tab is a small little piece that steers the rudder of a giant ship. And I really became kind of obsessed with that idea. And a fridge felt like a realistic embodiment of that of like, here's this one little fridge. But this fridge enables the community to support thousands of people. And that's something that I've just learned after having the fridge for four years. I wasn't really thinking about that at the time. I was like, this just really cool. I want to like, put a little stand up. And then when I bought the house.

[Amanda]

I was like, oh, now I have.

[Krista Clark]

A house and I can do right? And like, I was just like, this is. This is. Dope like, people are hungry and they're out of work and they need help. And I had been kind of part of that, like, zero waste movement leading up to this, trying to, you know, do my little trash jar or whatever really hard to do during COVID and really pissed me off. And what do you. I can't, like, reuse my. My cup, you know, when I get a coffee or whatever.

[Amanda]

Don't get me started. Because none of the grocery store bulk bins, like, ever came back in the same way. And it is. It, like, makes me so angry all the time. Actually, even now I'm like, okay, guys, couldn't we bring the bulk bins back now? It's been a while. Come on. I don't think they're ever coming back. It makes me so sad. Like, we did. I think that, like, as a society, we made a lot of progress in terms of, like, how we think about one another and our place in this world and how we can impact others. But I think we also made major backpedaling when it comes to, like, waste and over consumption. And now I feel like we're trying to fix some of that, you know?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. Yep. Yeah. And it's taken, like, what, four or five years to correct that.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

And, you know, and honestly, like, at first, the. The fridge was more. I was coming from a space of, oh, people have a surplus that would go to waste. You know, the average American is estimated to waste 40% of the food they buy. I'm like, these eggs are expensive. So I was kind of like, oh, I can create this. This physical space where people who have too much resource, instead of throwing it away, can give it to people that need more. Like, this. That's what's up. Like, this is great. And. And then, like, through getting to know the community, through having this fridge, through, like, being introduced to such an array of people that I would have never interacted with otherwise. Like, that's what. Then, like, kind of started giving me these personal transformations and, like, really starting to understand the. All the ways systemically people have been oppressed and. Yeah, and it's like, it really has been the most transformative experience of my life.

[Amanda]

I mean, that's amazing. When you and I were talking before to, like, prepare for this, you actually said something that has really stuck with me. You said, things are better with other people, you know, and just like, how connecting with people is. Is kind of, like, one of the best ways to have a happier life.

[Krista Clark]

Yes. It's so true. And I. I went through a period of losing a Lot of friends during COVID because I realized that I'd been, I'd been hanging out with these people that I thought were like very open minded and kind of like trying to be better people. And then none of them were even like wearing a mask in the height of the pandemic or you know, like I was like, wow, I really see like you don't care about other people. You only just care about your own personal whatever.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

Sovereignty or what, you know, whatever word they want to use.

[Amanda]

I think a lot of us, I mean like I definitely, there are people who I am. Was friends with in or friends, let's just say in quotes in February of 2020 that I certainly was no longer friends with in quotes by December of 2020. And it was a good thing. Those people were eating up my energy and it turned out that they, they didn't care about the same things as me. And if they couldn't be bothered to wear a mask, would they ever even really be there for me if I needed them? Do you know what I mean? Like, it just, I think, I think it was very life changing for a lot of us. So you know, before we go too far, I think it's really important to explain to people what a community fridge is like. We get it, it's a refrigerator. But like what's in it and who has access to it. And it's outside. I think that's important to call out. It's outside.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, yeah, it's outside. So I started, I'll just say I started with this little dinky shed like a bubble gum bank and like very poorly like graffiti stenciled like free food and comita grati on a very like Spanish speaking neighborhood. So I wanted to like make them message bilingual and, and it was like amazing like what. How much action that shed got. Like I just put this tiny little free Craigslist shed I picked up and like some, some free shelves and people would bring canned items and non perishables and clothes. I've always had a clothes rack because we have way too many clothes that need to be like directly redistributed as you know.

[Amanda]

Oh, I know.

[Krista Clark]

And so that was the first evolution of this. And you know, I think most people are familiar with like these little free libraries, right, like your little book stand. I've seen people do free pantries that way where it's just, it can just be a little box, you know, not that much bigger than a mailbox all the way to what, what I have now, which is a decent sized structure. I want to say it's like 6ft by 12ft base. And you know, we built kind of like this nice wooden structure with a metal roof. There's a, a garage fridge. Oh, and I like to say I partnered with a group called ATX Free Fridge to build this and upgrade to a fridge from my little dinky shed thing. So again, everything's better in community. Like the upgrade that happened of me doing this by myself versus once I joined this group of people that were, that were building and managing fridges around town, I became our, I think our fifth or sixth fridge. There's now seven or eight.

[Amanda]

Oh great.

[Krista Clark]

Which is awesome. There's been a couple built since me and so the network is growing, which is awesome. But the, you know, having other people involved and that are able to help like do fundraising and build. We had this amazing like carpenter designer guy volunteer his time, shout out to Phil Jackson studio. He does beautiful work and he helped design the structure and built it for us. And it was such a gift. And we have clothing racks and shelves and the fridge we found, at least for in Texas heat, we have like a garage fridge. That's a fridge freezer combo. So there's like a little switch on the outside so we can turn it into freezer mode during the summer. So it actually was able to stay cool getting open all day.

[Amanda]

That's amazing.

[Krista Clark]

And then my, my next door neighbor who was building a really ugly overpriced duplex narcked me out to the code compliance office.

[Amanda]

This is so Austin, by the way.

[Krista Clark]

I'm like, sorry, you're the first person to gingerfy the neighborhood with a disgustingly ugly condo that you're charging way too much for. It's not the fridge.

[Amanda]

But anyway, classic CO compliance.

[Krista Clark]

You're like, hey, we love you guys. Like low key. Keep doing what you're doing. However, you have to run proper electrical, which is fair.

[Amanda]

It protects you too. Like your house isn't going to burn down, you know? Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. So we ended up digging like an 18 inch trench through my yard and driveway and then plugging into the breaker box so that now that like runs power directly from my house. And it's been great and actually surprisingly reliable given how, how hot it gets in Texas. And then we also then, you know, it's great, like as you get more people involved, they have really awesome ideas. So like we have someone who's kind of like a tech guy and he, he installed sensors and there's an app that alerts us if like it's getting too Hot. Or there's an issue with the fridge that also let us track how many times it gets opened and closed in a day, which is hundreds. It's crazy. And, and so yeah, it's like over time this thing has, you know, evolved and changed and gotten better. But you know, the structure with the fridge has been there since I think March of 2023. So like we just kind of had our, our two year anniversary.

[Amanda]

Anyone can come to the fridge anytime, 24 hours a day. It's open to just like anyone who wants to come there. Right. Which is incredible. I remember you telling me that you had looked via Google Maps data or something, you could speak to how many people had visited the fridge. How many have. At least according to Google Maps.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. So I had the idea to put it on Google Maps last August of 24.

[Amanda]

So. Smart.

[Krista Clark]

Since August there have been over 10,000 people.

[Amanda]

Wow.

[Krista Clark]

Which is crazy. And that's just from the Google Maps. That's just right. Like that's not the people who've been coming and knew about it or just know where it is. That's new people.

[Amanda]

That's incredible. Incredible.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. That really was such an eye opener. Like I knew there was about a hundred people a day from our estimations. You know, if you go sit on my patio, you could just, you just watch the, you watch the churn, baby. Like there's people coming and going every five minutes. It's, it's nuts. And, and a lot of people are bringing food too. It's, it's, it's, it gets completely filled and empty at least five times a day.

[Amanda]

I mean, this like makes me just so happy. You have no idea. Because one, I hate food waste. Like it is some, one of those things that I will sometimes like stay awake at night being angry about. And two, I myself have met had many times in my life where I was food insecure. And it felt like there were no resources within my reach. Which brings me to my next question for you. You know, I was telling you before when we were preparing for this, that when I was living in Austin, I lived in a neighborhood called Windsor park, which is north of where you live. And we didn't have a fridge in our neighborhood, but we had like a pantry. And I would periodically just take stuff over there. It was like two blocks away. It was a nice little walk. I'd be like, oh, we're not gonna eat this in time or we have too much of this or we're about to go on vacation or whatever. And I would always fill it Up. And I'm gonna tell you, almost every time I left, by the time I got one block away, I saw someone taking something out of it, and it just made me so happy. Yeah, but I was talking about this at work one day with this, like, total asshole. Just gonna preface that. And I was like, yeah, we have this pantry. And I was explaining it to him, and I was like, it's just so great. Like, it's just this little thing I can do that makes sure I'm not wasting food, but also helps other people get food. And it's like, there are just these little things that we can do every day that are impactful, that don't seem major, but really are. And he was like, yeah, but, like, what if people just come who don't even need food and take food? And he was like, and shouldn't people who need food go to, like, a food bank or a soup kitchen? Like, he just did not want a food pantry to exist. I swear. He just, like. It was like the rapid fire. I'm sure you've heard these things, too. Well, what if people who don't need food come and take food? What? What do you say to someone who says that to you?

[Krista Clark]

I'm like, what? What? What darkness is in your soul, bro?

[Amanda]

I know exactly like, that people are like, I'm gonna scam the free fridge. I know. Are you okay?

[Krista Clark]

Do you live in? And I think I get that response so much, actually. I get so many people where they're immediate. When I tell them about the fridge, their immediate response is, well, what if people come and rob your house? What if people take all the food and they don't need it? What if, like, every wrong thing that could go wrong, and I'm like, this individualistic culture of every man for himself that we experience in America has poisoned our souls. And I think that's on purpose. Because if we're skeptical of each other, if we don't believe in each other, if we don't believe in the goodness in our neighborhood neighbors, then we're going to consume more and we're going to buy more. We're going to our own, and we're going to feed the system. Community building, community empowerment, knowing your neighbors. Bartering, giving food to free fridges is, like, one of the most radical acts individual people can do right now. And the amazing thing about all this is how many people care so deeply about this fridge. I'm like, for, you know, you might think, oh, it, like, puts me at more risk. I'm like, no, there's hundreds of people that love me and literally like, look out for me. I have guardian angels that come by my house every day. I have people that will, they'll just come up to, you know, to the door and just like check on me and see how I'm doing. Or they saw that I got, you know, someone had hit my car. At one point someone asked me like, did I need help with my truck. I've had people come and just ask if they could like water my plants or help with my yard because they wanted to give something back. I've heard so many stories, both through like people telling me or through notes they've written. The notes are my favorite. But how many people just benefit from this? And I've had people tell me that the fridge kept them alive that week that they had, they had nowhere else to turn, they had nowhere else to go. And things like this that are zero barriers are so important because with the food banks, especially now with like the ICE raids, like you need proper documentation, you need a vehicle, it's, it's not accessible. There are all these barriers to entry for you to get those services through. Right. Like you got to go through the system. You don't have an id if your wallet got stolen from you, you're living on the street. If you're undocumented, you don't have access to any of the resources that are available. And so having these peer to peer grown resources like the free fridge are literally life saving for people. I've had so many people tell me like they were living in their car for a couple months and this just helped them get by. And then now that they're in a better place, you know, six months later, they want, they come back and like clean the fridge and bring a little thing, you know, like they, they, they stay involved with it beyond needing it. And I think that's how it's able to stay full is you have so many people who have been touched by this, this project and, and experienced these miracles. It's also amazing like how often I've experienced this. I've heard other people experience this where they like needed this really specific thing. And you go, and the fridge has like that exact thing that you.

[Amanda]

That's amazing.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. You know, like, I remember I needed like some, I just wanted like some little, you know, those little like slides, like the, those little like plastic slides like I wanted to have for yard work. But I'm like, I'm not gonna buy plastic shoes at Walmart. Yeah. The next day, this pair that fits me Perfectly. That are so comfy and great. Like, just, like, rolled up in the fridge, you know, it's like.

[Amanda]

That is amazing. That is incredible.

[Krista Clark]

A manifestation portal.

[Amanda]

Yeah. Of plastic shoes.

[Krista Clark]

I guess they're just having the hardest day and they get there and, like, they get the last sandwich, you know.

[Amanda]

Or something like that. Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

I even had this elderly couple who. Who met each other outside of the free fridge and are married now they're in their.

[Amanda]

What did they have their wedding at the free fridge? They should have catered by the free fridge. I don't know. I'm just saying it was.

[Krista Clark]

It was like, such a whole drama, too, because, like, apparently they had met and then she'd given him her number, but then, like, her phone got caught cut off because she could pay the phone bill. And so then, like, she was scared they were never going to meet again, so they kept leaving notes for each other through.

[Amanda]

Oh, my gosh, I love this so much.

[Krista Clark]

It was so cute. I finally, like, a month later, saw them, like, roll up in the same car, and I was like, yes. And, yeah, they just got hitched, like, and are living together now. And they even, like, brought me a plant as a thank you.

[Amanda]

Wow, that's amazing. Because, I mean, I think it is, like, you know, on its surface, it's like, this is a place for people to get food, but it is so much more than that. Anything we do is so much more than what it seems on the surface. And I think, you know, I just want to go back to this idea of, like, the barriers that exist for people to get food right now, because I. At the beginning of the pandemic, you know, I lost my job among many, many other people. And I, like. The systems that exist in this country are not made to handle helping people, unfortunately, like, this is the reality, Right. I have been on food stamps. You have to jump through a million hoops, and we'll give you $10 for a month, and you'll be like, how? That's like, not even food. That's, like, $10. What am I gonna do with that? You know, getting cash assistance is even harder. And at the beginning of the pandemic, for, like, a year, the unemployment systems here in the United States were underground, were just underwater. Because here in the US Your unemployment insurance, which is the payments you might get if you lose your job, are administered by your state. And so some states had a better technological infrastructure than others. Here in Pennsylvania, it was pretty bad. It was actually way worse in Texas, where you live, because I believe you had to Apply via paper.

[Krista Clark]

Oh God.

[Amanda]

You have to go go get a paper application and fill it out. In a time when like government offices are closed, Right. And people are broke and struggling. So all of these sort of like community mutual aid groups formed around helping people get their unemployment and get through it. And everyone in the group was unemployed, right? So here we all are, we're in this group trying to help each other out. And I was helping all these different people apply for unemployment and coaching them through calling and just helping them figure stuff out. And you know, one of the things that would come up constantly in these groups is like, I don't have any food. And people will be like, go to the food bank. And they would be like, I need gas in my car to go to the food bank. And I don't have any money for gas to go get food. And so then we would be like venmoing people money for gas so that they could go to the food bank. Right. Or people would be like, my food bank only lets you come once a week. I already went, I'm out of food. I don't know what to do, you know? And it was just like people being like, I will deliver some stuff I have for my house to you. Don't worry about it. Like these mutual aid groups formed basically to help people in a way that like the, the social safety net just was not and still does not. Right. So when I hear people say, like, well, it's not my job to feed people, like that's what we have like the government for, or that's what we have food banks for, or that's what we have churches for. I'm like, I want you to understand that actually if you are a human, it is your job to care about other humans. And right now we don't have systems in place that protect people.

[Krista Clark]

Right.

[Amanda]

You know, there have been times in my life where I had $1 a day to spend on food. And if I could have had access to a fridge like this, it would have changed my life because I was living off of. I would have $1. I could go to the grocery store and get a cheese bagel, and then I had a quarter left to get an orange. And that's what I would eat every day because that's what I could afford with a dollar. And I was full time employed.

[Krista Clark]

Wow.

[Amanda]

You know, you know what I mean? Like, this is what it is to live in the United States where people who might be, I don't know, sort of like invisibly struggling around you and what I like about this idea of the free fridge is that anyone can just walk up and get something.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

Because more people are hungry than you think.

[Krista Clark]

Oh, absolutely. And that's been a really eye opening part of this is hearing people's stories is a lot of people immediately think like, oh, it's, it's, it's just people who are unhoused who absolutely need this the most and deserve this the most. Right. And I've made so many amazing friends and the amount of time I've let someone crash on my couch or come take a shower, but there's so many other people that you, that you would look at and not think, oh, this person is food insecure.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

So many elderly who are just trying to get high on their Social Security.

[Amanda]

I know. I worry about, I worry about that all the time.

[Krista Clark]

Families living out of their car because they, they couldn't pay rent and they have a job, but they just, I don't, I don't know what the statistic is, but like, so many Americans are just one crisis away from their whole life falling apart.

[Amanda]

Oh, all of us are, we are like in denial about how easily we could lose everything. All it takes is one injury, one accident, one global pandemic, you know, one decision by the government, one natural disaster. And when I hear people kind of like shitting on people who need help, I want to just like, grab them and shake them and make you, like, be like, listen, you have more in common with people who you can't get enough to eat than you do with billionaires. Like, you need to just shut up and like, open your heart, you know?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

And like, it's, it's so frustrating.

[Krista Clark]

It's, it's because then, you know, it's like, I'm sure you've experienced this too. You said, like, this whole mutual aid group was all people that, that didn't have money or have jobs. And they're the ones supporting each other because they get it.

[Amanda]

They get it. They're like, I know what it's like to not be able to afford diapers. I'm gonna bring you diapers. You know, like, this is the thing I, I remember, you know, when you're kind of growing up, like, you and your kid, like, you are maybe aware of a certain level of like, economic differences out there, and you might have an inkling that your family has less than others or more than others, but, you know, you might not either. Right. Because you're just, you're, you only see a little bit of the view every day and I remember in middle school, there was this substitute teacher that we'd all had for years. You know, the same substitute teachers would show up, like, throughout middle school. One day they'd be teaching math, and the next day they'd be, like, in history, right? And we had this one teacher named Mrs. Michaels who we'd had forever. And everybody was like, Mrs. Michaels is so mean. I hate her. And she smells, and she's frizzy hair, and she's real bitch. Whatever. People hated her. I was, like, neutral on her. I mean, whatever. She's a substitute teacher. Kids are assholes. She. She died when we were in high school, and it turned out she. They found her in her car because she had been living in her car for years, including when she was substitute teaching. And, you know, you're like a kid, and you just assume all teachers live at home and they have, like, a white picket fence. They probably have a dog and a husband and kids and, like, a nice house. Right. You just assume because they're like, teachers. And that, for me, was, like, one of the first realities that, like, people are suffering around you and you don't even know. And it might be people that you don't expect. Of course, now I'm an adult, and I'm like, oh, man, the substitute teacher circuit sucks. And I have plenty of friends who struggle to make a living as a teacher, much less a substitute teacher. But, like, you know, as a kid, I didn't know that. You just assume, like, teachers must be, like, rich or something. I don't know. Compared to my parents, right? Who, like, my stepdad worked in a brick factory. I was like, surely this teacher has a much higher quality of life. She probably goes to Disney World and things like that. So I say that again to just reinforce to everyone who's listening that there are people around you who are hungry that you might not even have guessed. And that's why I feel like these small things, like starting a free fridge, are actually so radically impactful. Way more impactful than you might think, because I think we tend to think, like, oh, the only way you can, like, really have an impact is if you're, like, the leader of this huge organization. You have all these people following you, and there's all this money exchanging hands and all this critical mass of humans around you. But literally, one fridge, 10,000 people visited in a year. You know, like, one thing impacts all these people, and it's not some huge national campaign. It's right there at the end of your driveway.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. Just in six months.

[Amanda]

It's just in six months. Exactly. I mean that's incredible.

[Krista Clark]

Okay. Jesus. Like you know.

[Amanda]

Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Foreign Lets take a moment to thank some of the incredible small businesses who keep clotheshorse going via their generous Patreon support. Spokes and Stitches is a size inclusive pattern making and sewing studio based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pattern maker Ruby Gertz teaches workshops for hobbyists and aspiring designers so that anyone can learn the foundational skills of designing and making their own clothes. If you're looking to expand your design skills beyond following store bought patterns, check out Ruby's flagship Sloper Workshop, an in person two day pattern making retreat where you will learn how to drape a set of basic block patterns that capture your unique shape and proportions. You can use these basic block or sloper patterns as a foundation for infinite styles of garments that are custom made to your body's one of a kind contours. No more full bust, flat seat or swayback adjustments. Start with a foundation that fits. Ruby also provides professional services such as pattern digitization, size charts, pattern making and grading services for indie slow fashion brands that want to prioritize inclusive sizing. You can find Ruby on Instagram at spokesandstitches and get in touch with her for professional services at www.spokesandstitches. selena Sanders a social impact brand that specializes in upcycle clothing using only reclaimed, vintage or thrifted materials from tea towels, linens, blankets and quilts. Sustainably crafted in Los Angeles, each piece is designed to last in one's closet for generations to come. Maximum style Minimal carbon footprint. Shift clothing out of beautiful Astoria, Oregon with a focus on natural fibers, simple hard working designs and putting fat people first. Discover [e-mail] late to the Party Creating one of a kind statement clothing from vintage, salvaged and thrifted textiles, they hope to tap into the dreamy memories we all hold. Floral curtains, a childhood dress, the wallpaper in your best friend's rec room. All while creating modern sustainable garments that you'll love wearing and have for years to come. Late to the Party is passionate about celebrating and preserving text textiles, the memories they hold and the stories they have yet to tell. Check them out on Instagram. Latetothepartypeople Vino Vintage based just outside of la, we love the hunt of shopping secondhand because you never know what you might find. Catch us at flea markets around Southern California by following us on Instagram Vino Vintage so you don't miss our next event. Dylan Paige is an online clothing and lifestyle brand based out of St. Louis, Missouri our products are chosen with intent for the conscious community. Everything we carry is animal friendly, ethically made, sustainably sourced and cruelty free. Dylan Paige is for those who never stop questioning where something comes from. We know that personal experience dictates what's sustainable for you and we are here to help guide and support you to make choices that fit your needs. Check us [e-mail] and find us on Instagram ylanpage life and style Salt Hats Purveyors of truly sustainable hats, hand blocked, sewn and embellished in Detroit, Michigan. Find us on Instagram Althats Gentle Vibes Vintage we are purveyors of polyester and psychedelic relics. We encourage experimentation and play not only in your wardrobe but in your home too. We have have thousands of killer vintage pieces ready for their next adventure. See them all on Instagram. Entlevibesvintage Thumbprint is Detroit's only fair trade marketplace. Located in the historic Eastern Market. Our small business specializes in products handmade by empowered women in South Africa making a living wage creating things they love like hand painted candles and ceramics. We also carry a curated assortment of sustainable and natural locally made goods. Thumbprint is a great gift destination for both the special people in your life and for yourself. Browse our online [e-mail] and find us on Instagram ThumbprintDetroit Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing, accessories and decor reselling business based in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but we're also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jessica, the founder and owner of Vagabond Vintage DTLV recently opened the first IRL location located in the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas on August 5th. The shop has a strong emphasis on 60s and 70s garments, single stitch tees and dreamy loungewear. Follow them on Instagram at Vagabond Vintage DTLV and keep an eye out for their website. Coming fall of 2022.

[Krista Clark]

Let'S get into.

[Amanda]

Sort of the like nuts and bolts of like having a free fridge. Now obviously we're not going to give you the exhaustive rundown on how to do this. We're going to try to give you as much information as possible. And I know you said before Christa that if people did have questions they could reach out to you. Yes, and I low key hope that lots of people reach out to you because I am like so excited about this so first things first, in terms of like a fridge, is there a special kind of fridge that people should look for or can any old fridge do?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, so I, we, we found especially for Texas, those garage fridges that are a fridge freezer combo are the best.

[Amanda]

Option because of the heat. Right.

[Krista Clark]

And, and I, I've been thinking I would love to put kind of like a little like how to start a free fridge kit together. Like it's something I, I have ambitions of different things to improve the project and then, but yes, please, if you do have questions, like, reach out and that will help me kind of better put together information I can disseminate and give out to people.

[Amanda]

And how did you get your fridge through the group in Austin?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, they, we raised money and they paid for everything.

[Amanda]

See, I think you could, if anybody's listening and you're like, okay, well I want to do this. I think that you could have a fundraiser to get the fridge.

[Krista Clark]

Oh, absolutely.

[Amanda]

I think everybody would be stoked.

[Krista Clark]

We always have a surplus of money, actually.

[Amanda]

Oh, good.

[Krista Clark]

Like people love the fridge. We don't have a hard time fundraising for that. And these fridges themselves, I want to say they were like 800 bucks.

[Amanda]

That's not that bad. That feels like you can raise that, you know, easy.

[Krista Clark]

Plus, you know, you know, some, some get someone who's handy, get some scrap wood donated. Right. Like you can, you can build this affordably. I would also say the scratch and dent sale websites are great because it's a brand new thing. It just got like a little ding dong on it and it's like cool. Who cares if it has a dent, it's probably gonna get a dent anyway, right?

[Amanda]

Yeah, exactly. I mean, my life hack is that when you need things like that, you know, look on Facebook Marketplace first and find it secondhand. If you can't, Best Buy is a really great place to buy things. Open box, which means someone bought it and returned it. And low key, I don't get it either, but people are returning fridges and stoves and washers and dryers like non stop. Like actually in San Antonio. I think it's in San Antonio. Maybe it was in Houston. We went to a whole of Best Buy outlet that was just appliances that people had returned and it was in insane. And so like there are ways to find these things pretty affordably. And I think if you told your neighbors that you're gonna do this, they're gonna want to support it. Some people, maybe it's because they're like, yeah, I really want to help People who are hungry. Other people might be like, okay, great. I'm so tired of throwing food out. This is amazing. Like, there's a way to spin this to get everyone involved.

[Krista Clark]

Absolutely. And next door, for all the. For all the drama it can cause, it's a great way to let people in your neighborhood know about this resource.

[Amanda]

Totally. Or if you, like, have local buy nothing groups for your neighborhood, that's another good group of people to engage with out here where I live. Krista, I'm going to tell you, as far as I can tell, everyone on Nextdoor is on it because they were booted off of Facebook. Just to give you an idea of the kind of stuff that people are saying on Nextdoor. It is disturbing. Some people are there looking for love. Some people will be like, well, my hot take is we don't hit kids enough these days. You're like, what does this have to do with anything? I just wanted to know where that fire truck went.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

Like, I, you know, so out here, my. My next door is not. It's not a group. I would work with him. But here in Lancaster, we have a Facebook group. It's like people. It's like a mutual aid group, basically, where people are like, I just moved out of transitional housing. I need these items. And people are like, I have this, I have that. And they get dropped off. Right. So like, a group like that would be good for starting a community fridge.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. Or even finding. If there's already one nearby like, you. You might be surprised. Maybe there's people.

[Amanda]

You might be surprised. Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

And then just contribute. You know, I'd also say people who. If you have surplus money and you find out about a fridge or a pantry, like, it can be as easy as buying some extra water bottles when you go to the grocery store. Or. Or, you know, if you have extra time, you want to volunteer, maybe like call around to some food trucks and see if they're willing to donate some leftovers once a week. Or, you know, we get people who work at coffee shops and they'll bring all the muffins and. And breads that they were gonna literally throw away.

[Amanda]

Literally. Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

Right. Like, there's so many ways you can be involved in this if you have time or money or. Or just like when to throw down an extra five bucks a month. You know, you can still make such a huge difference for people.

[Amanda]

Absolutely. It doesn't have to be like a. A full time job.

[Krista Clark]

Exactly. And. And that's.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

The miracle of this is I'm actually, as the host I put in a very minimal amount of hours into this. Like, I go and I check the trash at least once a week. I try to do it more. You know, I'm taking my bins out and. And when I go to the grocery store or I'll grab a couple extra things, or sometimes I'll have friends over and we'll make sandwiches, which is so fun. Like, just. Also just a great way to. To build community and get to know the people around you. I actually didn't know any neighbors until I built the fridge part of this. And I. We had, like, a little, like, grand opening, and a bunch of neighbors came over, and I was like, oh, my gosh.

[Amanda]

Hi.

[Krista Clark]

Like, wow. It's amazing to know the person that lives across the street from me that I've lived here for three years and never met. What a concept. Do you know?

[Amanda]

Yeah, no. I mean, there was this guy who posted on Threads a few weeks ago, and I wish I had screenshotted it, because he was like, I hear people talking about community, but I literally don't even know what that means. Like, are you telling me that people actually talk to their neighbors? And I was like, this is the sad world we live in right now. Like, we have become so. And it is. It's by design. If we're sad and lonely and don't trust one another, then we buy more shit. Right? And I think that. And it's easier to dehumanize people when you don't know them. And I am just so sad that we are. I think the pandemic for all of us who it radicalized. Right. There are also a lot of people who. It sort of segmented them away from society more. It isolated them. And it's like, we need to, like, bring all those people back into society, you know? Absolutely. So. And I get how. I'm an introvert. So the first, like, year of the pandemic, I was like, oh, my God, I'm an introvert. I just realized it. This is amazing. I'm so happy, you know, but we gotta get back out there, you know? So I think that that's a great. So, you know, one thing I did. You want to just call out here is, like, going back to the pantry that my neighborhood had. If, like, a fridge just doesn't work in terms of, like. Like, I don't know how you could wire it or the geography of where it is, or you're just like, this is too much. In my neighborhood, we basically had what looked like a little cabinet on the side of the road. And it was. People would put dry goods in there, right? So like, no, nobody's putting milk in there, but like there were pastas and soups, canned items, you know, cereal, like that kind of milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated and like oat milk and things like that. So you could start with something like that as well?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, absolutely. And just like start small and build from there. I'm so glad I did the little dinky shed first. And I will say a warning for anyone who might be doing this. Be prepared because you might accidentally make like 20 best friends.

[Amanda]

What a courage.

[Krista Clark]

This has been really difficult for me. I'm like, wow, there's so many people that love me now. It's like. And like, want to hang out with me. It's kind of overwhelming.

[Amanda]

Yeah, it's, it's. I know it's hard. It's hard to be loved. Right?

[Krista Clark]

And, and also I, I noticed the quality of the connections and the friendships I was making through this work. Because think about it, there's. There's like, you know, I think we've all experienced like, oh, you make, you make friends because you go out drinking or whatever. You go to dinner. That's the extent of your relationship. Maybe you gossip, right? Like, that was a lot of my relationships years ago. And now you start making friends that want to spend their free time cooking meals for the free fridge or picking up trash together or planting a community garden. And suddenly you have these people coming into your sphere that are beautiful and kind hearted and compassionate and are the kinds of people that will like, drop everything they're doing and show up for you when you need it. Like, those are the kinds of connections that are possible through hosting a fridge or being involved in them. The kinds of people that are regularly showing up to support this project are like the highest quality people.

[Amanda]

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. You might need to fall in love. You know, you might, you might get married at the community fridge. There's no telling, but it could be the first day of the rest of your life. You know, a little story of mine.

[Krista Clark]

Actually, if you want to hear some. Some tea is last year I, I was starting like a little community garden. And unfortunately, unfortunately, my first batch of like putting little seedlings out in the community garden in front of the fridge, someone dug up all the plants.

[Amanda]

Like, oh, that stuff happens.

[Krista Clark]

It's okay. Yeah, I spent 15 on them. Right. But I was like, okay. I, like had to put a sign like, please don't take the whole plant. Just, just basil leaf. You know, and I posted on Instagram and, like, you know, this guy saw it and he just DM'd me. He's like, hey, I'm going to the garden center later. Like, I'll grab you some. And I'm like, okay, cool. Thanks. Random person. That's so sweet. You know, and then comes and drops him off in my front door. And I open the door and I was like, oh, like, who? This is a very, like, attractive person. Like, who are you? You know, hello. You literally just showed up on my doorstep and, you know, and then through that, like, he's become one of, like, the most special people in my life. Like, we really forged this beautiful, like, friendship and has shown up for me in so many amazing ways. And so it's just, like, you just never know, like, the kinds of, like, miracles or, like, these sweet little moments that. That. That are possible through this work and through being willing to, like, ask for help and allow people to help you and to people. I think people want to help each other. We want to do the right thing. We want to believe in the good in each other.

[Amanda]

I think so, too. And it's just, like, sometimes you just don't know where to start. You know, People want. They want you to tell them what they can do to help. Yeah. And I know that's hard. It's hard to say I need help with this. I think that we, especially if we're assigned female at birth, we are kind of socialized pretty early on on to take care of everyone and put our feelings last. Right. And, like, sort of, like, if you're not, like, kind of suffering, then, like, are you even living? Like, I feel like that was sort of instilled with me. My mom is definitely, like, a major martyr all the time. And I think it's. It's really hard for me to say I need help with this. Right. Like, I'm having a hard time with XYZ or I can't solve this problem, or if one person could just, like, go get me some plants to replant, it would change my life, you know? Like, I think. I think some people just want to help and. And, like, they just don't know where to start. Right. So I think. I think that getting involved with something like this, starting something like this, being a part of something like this will be life changing for anyone who gets involved. Yeah, so you already said, like, it's not, like, a lot of work. Right? Like, do you. Do you have to do anything with the fridge every day or is it pretty self Sustaining.

[Krista Clark]

Not every day. No.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

Like, I, I, you know, sometimes I have more bandwidth and I intentionally spend more time out there and I like to talk to people. And then sometimes I'm like, having a week and I'm like, the fridge is fine.

[Amanda]

You know, that's great. That's great. Because I think people probably think you're sitting like on a lawn chair by the fridge fridge all day, you know.

[Krista Clark]

Hey there, I got my iced tea. You know.

[Amanda]

Like, it actually, like, maybe the hardest part of it is really like getting it started and getting people involved and then like in theory, like. Right. Like other people in your community also could be helping you sort of maintain the fridge. Like, if you wanted to go on vacation. Oh yeah. Someone else could handle the trash and checking in on the fridge and looking for expired things and whatnot. Right.

[Krista Clark]

We have this group text with people, people who kind of run, run ATX free fridge and help support the other fridges. And then also like some people who are closer to me. So that way if I have like an urgent need or I need support, like, someone else can jump in, like if I'm out of town or, you know, hey, I think, I think the fridge is off. Can someone go check on it? We also post on Instagram, like, especially like every now and then someone will like bring furniture or something really annoying.

[Amanda]

But that's annoying.

[Krista Clark]

There's so many people that come that most problems self resolve within like an hour or two.

[Amanda]

Like, that's amazing.

[Krista Clark]

Take the table. Right. Or, you know, or if, you know, it's been a couple days and no one's taking it, I'll like post like an Instagram story, hey, can someone come get this? And then, boom, it's gone. Like, or, hey, can you help clean or, you know, sometimes I need to put out little requests or reminders. Can more people please bring water in the summer? That kind of thing, you know, like, it's good to kind of stay on people's range are. But it's really, it really hit a critical mass early on of people that are just, they got, they, they worked it into their routine to come. Yeah, they come just check on the fridge or, you know, they notice, oh, there's trash. So I'm going to just take the trash with me. And so much of it is self sustaining now that I as an individual do not put that much time into it. You know, of course there's like annoying things that happen occasionally. But, but all in all, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's Been amazing. Like, how little effort I personally have to put in because there is this community of hundreds of people who care about this thing and who are looking out for it and taking it upon themselves to. To help keep. Keep this, you know, magical, alive. And. And I think that's like the. The thing I want to. People to take away from this is you're. You're like folk. Like, take note of your immediate reactions of what you think a free fridge might be like, because if your immediate reaction is, oh, people are going to take advantage of this or ruin this or be evil, it's like, no, babe, they're not. Like, people are gonna love this and, and love you and look out for you. Like, I have. Have people who have, you know, a lot of people have my number at this point. They'll text me, like, hey, I saw like, a person I hadn't seen before sitting on your front porch. Just want to make sure, like, that's a guest of yours, you know, and yes, it was. Right. It's like the. The level are so thoughtful. They want to make sure I feel safe. Right. And these are people I've only ever, like, met twice, you know, and they'll just. They'll just think of me and I. And you have to be ready and willing to receive that level of support. Kind of what you said, like, if you haven't like, been Main character syndrome. Right? Like a supporting role. And now to be someone who's getting supported and nourished and receiving help from my community has been a huge shift and something I really had to actively work on, on receiving myself.

[Amanda]

Yeah, I bet. I mean, and you and I were talking about this before we started recording. Like, I don't think people should, you know, start a community fridge or do any other work within the community because they are expecting that they're going to get something in return, like, tenfold. Right. Like, that is not the reason to start this. But I will tell you that most likely the, like, goodness that you put out into the world is going to come back to you even bigger than what you put into it. Like, it's like an investment. But I don't want, like I said, I don't want people to look at it that way and get into these things for the wrong reason.

[Krista Clark]

Right?

[Amanda]

Yeah, but there is, like, I'm sorry, but you know what? Listen, I like, love doing volunteer work because it. It just makes me so happy to just be, like, helping out where I can. And that alone is its own, like, intense reward to just be like, hey, I Just am like helping out.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

You know like it feels good. Right. That alone is its own reward. But I, I can assure you like the more you are engaging with your community and being a part of it, the more like support and love and just care you are going to experience yourself.

[Krista Clark]

Absolutely. It is the best antidote to doom scrolling.

[Amanda]

It really is. And we need that more than ever.

[Krista Clark]

Calm down. Go, go do something with community. Like you will be reignited in that people are good.

[Amanda]

Yes. Because people are good. And I, I think that we have forgotten that. I think because we are so isolated because social media brings out the worst in human behavior. And I'll tell you, there have been days where I have been sitting at home and I've been like God, I hate everyone. Like I just hate seeing people treat people this way and act this way. And I hate that like influencers are still selling garbage clothes and I hate all these things, you know. And then I'm. I have to like remind myself that actually I do believe in my heart that humans are good. You know, and sometimes we just don't know how, how we can bring that goodness into play. Because it's not easy. We're not. It's not easy to do good things for the world. Right. The world doesn't make it easy to give that love back. I guess sometimes. But once you get started it becomes easier. 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Sign [e-mail] to receive $20 off your first purchase. They promise not to spam you and send out no more than three emails a month with two of them surrounding education or a personal note from the founder. Again, that's Deco denim dot com. Did you need any, like, I don't know, like a permit or a license or anything for your refrigerator? Because I know someone's gonna ask.

[Krista Clark]

Not.

[Amanda]

Not in Texas, obviously. Yeah, Texas is sort of like, we'll let you do anything. Yeah. Except get an abortion, but we'll let you do anything else, you know?

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, it's like, do whatever you want. Just don't ask us for any level.

[Amanda]

Exactly. Safety or protection. Yeah. And like, you know, we don't want you to drink water on hot days either. So, like, just. But it is true. I. I would definitely recommend that people check with their, like, local municipality on this. I was checking around and I wasn't really seeing that there was like a permitting process, but I do suspect there could be issues. Like, you know, when you were talking about like the electrical thing, which. Yes, your neighbor was a narcissist and some neighbors are narcs and we all have to deal with them. But ultimately it was probably a good thing to get things wired up properly, so.

[Krista Clark]

Oh, yeah, it was. We were gonna do it either way. It just like had to happen a lot sooner than we.

[Amanda]

Yeah. And is your electric bill, like, crazy from this or is it like. No. Okay, cool.

[Krista Clark]

No, no, the fridges are fine. I haven't noticed a huge uptick in that. I mean, the electric bills are getting more expensive anyway. But I kind of did a comparison of like electricity used from the year before the fridge and after. And. And it was not that much more. Also, I, I haven't taken them up on this offer, but like the group had offered if, if electricity starts becoming an issue, like they could help fundraise to cover that. You know, there's, there's options, right?

[Amanda]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Because people, yeah, just ask people for help. It's so true. Okay, so at your fridge, obviously people can get food, but you've talked about some other things. There's a rack of clothing there. What else do people leave there that gets, you know, rehomed with other people?

[Krista Clark]

Oh, the, the creativity, I'm sure, so much. I mean, you know, I love. We get lots of kids stuff, lots of toys, all the little, like baby shoes. I love shoes. Clothing, I love. I'm the only one in Austin now that does clothing. The rest of the fridges, a lot of them are maintained by like a business or something. And it just wasn't as feasible to have a larger situation with clothing and like home goods. Mine feels more like a little store.

[Amanda]

A little free store. I love it.

[Krista Clark]

But it's like donate your clothing. Or like people are moving and they have extra plates, cutlery, lamps, little, little household items. Like that's so helpful, especially for people that maybe have been unhoused or living in their car and now they're moving in somewhere and they need that stuff. Like we. I get a lot of, you know, I'll go, I'll also just personally go out of my way to help people I know who are getting in a housing situation. Like, I'll ask for donations for that, but I found those things are really helpful and usually like disappear pretty quick.

[Amanda]

I believe it.

[Krista Clark]

And plus like, I think what, what's that the stat? Like only 30% of what we take to Goodwill actually like gets sold to someone. The rest is going overseas to landfills. So being able to directly donate clothing that's in good, good shape and it. Going directly to your neighbors is such an amazing way to combat clothing waste. Just to like bring in an aspect to, to the rest of your podcast.

[Amanda]

No, it's, it's so true. I mean I, I talk about this all the time. Like the goal when we re home, things should really be like, to get it to someone who's going to use it. And these things, even just like cutlery and dishes, lamps, what have you, the odds of them being resold locally are pretty slim if you give them to the Goodwill. Whereas absolutely, someone who is living in their car is going to be so stoked to get some utensils. Someone who is moving into A transitional housing situation needs literally everything. You know, it ensures that someone really does get and wear those clothes. And this, you know, obviously for you are lucky because where you live most of the year it's pretty. I mean, yeah, it's unbearably hot and then there's that few weeks where it's horribly cold. But in general the weather is pretty consistent for people who live in other areas. Like you definitely. I mean, you have a structure over your fridge and stuff. I would advise that for people like you need some sort of shed kind of situation. Right. To protect it from the elements. But I think you could be doing so many things that will not only help people out, but will keep stuff out of the landfill. And that's like a double win. Like, you cannot underestimate the impact. Impact of that.

[Krista Clark]

Right? Absolutely. Yeah. And you know, some things I would like to call out too is, well, one, plastic bags that take out cutlery. Those take out little sauce packets and salts. Amazing. Like, especially if you can kind of bag them up and make a little packet. Like I always save stuff. I don't eat out that much. But when I do, like, I'll, I'll put together like little baggies. And people, people who are unhoused, love that and appreciate that very much. And then there's also something I've noticed that was kind of, I guess a surprise to me is sometimes there's kind of like trashy, junky looking items, like maybe a sunglasses lens or like something that I'm like, seriously, like, like you, you know, like, why are you bringing your trash here? I think sometimes that can be from people who are just like unconscious or, you know, it's like, like a no good will receive. So much garbage.

[Amanda]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

But sometimes I've noticed a lot of times it's someone who, who was unhoused, who is super crafty and creative and saw this thing on the side of the road and was like, oh, someone could use that. This is, this is worthwhile. And it's like that, that mindset from my unhoused friends and neighbors has really been amazing for me as someone who wants to advocate for things getting reused. And so it's helped me kind of shift my mindset of like things. Like sometimes I'll see you like, oh, look at all this junkie stuff. And then I'm like, someone probably like kept hold of that because they thought someone else could use it.

[Amanda]

Yeah.

[Krista Clark]

And so, you know, sometimes I gotta like have a little bit of a reframe.

[Amanda]

I think that's great.

[Krista Clark]

Catch myself from just being like. Like, people just treat this like garbage, blah, blah, blah. You know, like, you know, frustrated. I'm like. Or someone just thought they were being really thoughtful. I've had a lot of moments like that where I'm like, I'm in a situation around the fridge where I immediately assume negative intent. And. And the person who's. Who's behaving in a certain way was coming from a place of wanting to do, and I just misinterpreted it. And I think that's one of the most transformative kinds of situations I've had from hosting a fridge. Like, I don't want people to think that it's like, all, like, perfect, easy butterflies. Every day. There are difficult things that happen. One example of this that I think is hilarious. I think maybe I told you this when we had our little call. There was this gentleman who. Who I'd been seeing him around, but we never really interacted. And then one day he knocks on my door and is like, hi. I had this spider bite. Like, do you have a medical equipment? You know, And I got bit by a brown or clue spider, which is.

[Amanda]

Like, oh, my God, yes.

[Krista Clark]

No one ever has to, like, witness what that looks like in person because it's so gnarly. And I was like, oh, dude, I'm so not prepared for this. But I, you know, I wash them off.

[Amanda]

Off.

[Krista Clark]

I bandaged him up, I took him to a clinic, and, you know, he was so sweet, and I. And then I didn't, like, see him for a while, and I'd been kind of wondering about this guy. Fast forward, you know, a couple weeks later, I walk out one one day, and there's just, like, an apartment's worth full of stuff.

[Amanda]

Oh, no.

[Krista Clark]

Furniture, lamps, a futon frame, like a tv, a microwave. I'm just like, some. Someone literally took their whole apartment and just, like, put it in my driveway.

[Amanda]

Like.

[Krista Clark]

Like, I'm like, on the Instagram, I'm like, oh, people are so disrespectful. Like, restores, you know, five minutes away. You know, you like. And then, you know, I was, like, having a whole tantrum about that, even though, you know, whatever. Like, I have my moments. But I then see this guy, like, a few weeks later, and he comes running up to me and he's like, hi. Like, he had, like, made me this little paper flower that he brought to me, and he, like, showed me he wanted to, like, show me his back. He was all healed. And I was like, awesome. And then he's like, Remember when a bunch of stuff was in your driveway? And I'm like, yeah. He's like, that was me.

[Amanda]

Oh, no.

[Krista Clark]

He's like, I met this guy who was moving, and they didn't know. And they didn't know where to take their stuff. And I was like, you have to take it to this lady. She's an angel, and she helps people get things they need. And she helps. She's the best place to take this. And he was like. He was so excited to show this.

[Amanda]

Well.

[Krista Clark]

And I was like, bro, I cannot. I was like, thank you. I was like, you know, next time, maybe not as much furniture, but, like, I. Thank you. Like, that was because in his mind, as someone who's been lit, he's been literally sleeping in the dirt.

[Amanda]

Yeah. Okay.

[Krista Clark]

Like, he came upon this enormous abundance, and. And, like, his first thought was, like, here is this person that deserves all this abundance that I can finally provide back because I've benefited so much from this fridge. Yeah. And, like, I, like, cried in that moment. We hugged each other, and it was so sweet. And I was like, wow. Like, I really just, like, immediately went to. Someone was such an asshole for doing this when, like, he was like, this is the greatest thing ever, you know?

[Amanda]

Like, wow. Yeah. I mean, that. That is. That is, like, a really sweet story, though. And I. I do think it's, like, once again, like, most people want to do good things, have good intentions. Like, I really believe in the goodness of people. Right. And of course, your first response would be like, oh, my God, why are people so, like, disrespectful and they're using me as a garbage dump. Because I would feel that way, too. But then. And, yeah, there are people who would do that for sure. Probably not knowing what a. What a source of stress it would be for you. Right. But, like, really, it was someone trying to do a good thing. And that is. That is so beautiful.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah. You know, like, there's been times where, like, oh, there was, like, this huge bag of trash left. But, you know, it's like, I then later found out that that that was stuff that had, like, gotten knocked over by the wind, and it was all over my yard, and someone, like, went and. And picked up all that trash for me. They just didn't have anywhere to take me.

[Amanda]

Wow, that's so.

[Krista Clark]

Right. We're like. First thought, oh, my God, I can't believe someone just, like, came and dumped a bag of trash. Like, screw you. And, like, no, like, someone went, oh. Like, took, like, an hour out of their day. To, like, clean my yard up for me. Or I've. I've had people who. Who will come. I know it probably happens where people come and take way more than they need. I imagine those people are living in a. A place of serious scarcity, that they. That they would come and hoard resources. It.

[Amanda]

You know, it does happen, for sure. I'm. I'm sympathetic to that. Or maybe they can only get to your refrigerator. Like, they're getting a ride from someone, and it's like, one time this week, you know, and they're just, you know, they got to make it work.

[Krista Clark]

Exactly. And that's what I've learned. If I actually, like, go through the effort of talking to them, those people, I find they have a family of eight people they're providing for, or they're taking all these things to a camp of 20 unhoused people and they took special orders. Right. Or, like, they're helping three families out who don't have transportation. Like, so often someone who's taking a lot of things from the fridge is taking it directly to people that desperately need that. And so I. I'm, like, all for that. Like, yes, please. That's what it's here for. But, like, if you just see someone roll up and take a bunch of stuff out of the fridge, you're like, your first thought is, like, who is this asshole? Right.

[Amanda]

Because that's, like, how we're conditioned. I believe that people want to take advantage of things, but, like, the reality is, like, there might be one person who's gonna, like, take advantage of the free fridge in a. A negative way, perhaps. But then there's 900 and. 9,000, 999 people who are like, I legitimately need food.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah.

[Amanda]

You know, like, so, like, if one person out of 10,000 is maybe somehow exploiting this free fridge, which I really doubt, who cares? Yeah. Right.

[Krista Clark]

Like, if someone is taking things from the fridge and reselling them, like, they probably need the money, you know?

[Amanda]

Exactly. I know. I know, right? Exactly.

[Krista Clark]

Stuff will come. It is. It is a practice of transforming a scarcity mindset to an abundant mindset of, like, there will always be more. We are recirculating resources. Right. Like, the food comes and the food goes, and the food comes back and the food goes again. And, you know, it's like, I've started thinking of resource exchange in this, like, kind of like, circular cycle instead of like, oh, I'm losing out, or I'm, you know, lacking something. It's like, no. Like, I'm putting it out and then it's gonna come back to me when I need it. And so many people have found that to be the case. Like, when they really need something, usually they can find something. Now, sometimes the fridge is a bit bare and we'll have to, like, kind of let people know and boost it, right? But a lot of times people do get to find what they need when they come. And that's been, like, such a huge mindset. Shift, shift for me. And how I think about people and how I think about, like, building businesses or building structures or projects or community in a way where you're accommodating all these different kinds of needs and ways of thinking that people are approaching you with that maybe you're not going to just. You're not going to have that perspective. And so I think for. For anyone who's thinking about hosting a fridge, like, like, be prepared to have your mindset challenged. And that's a good thing. Like, it's been so, like, transformative for me. But, you know, I want to tell people like you, there will be times where, like, you think the world is a very certain way. And then you're like, wow, I got that so wrong.

[Amanda]

You know, I mean, that's what, like, life is. I think right is kind of constantly being proven wrong and growing from that. And I think that this is definitely, once again, it's like, it sounds so simple. It's just like it's a refrigerator. But it really can just transform your relationship with, like, all the people around you and kind of like what you think about humanity and only in a good way, right? Like, yeah, sometimes people are gonna put spoiled food in the fridge or leave the door open or throw trash on the floor. But most like, 99.9% of the time, it's gonna be so positively impactful on the people around you and your life. And there are a few things that you can actually say that you do on a regular basis that kind of work out that well that often, right? You know, like, you can get a job and shirt pays you, but there are probably days where you, like, hate it so much or it makes you feel sad or you can't sleep at night thinking of it. You know, you've probably dated people who made you feel bad, right? Or had friends that were actually bad friends or bought something that broke as soon as you bought it. You know, like all of these things. But, like, here's something that, like, actually, most of the time, it's. It exceeds expectations. Like, how often does that happen in life? You know? And I, and I think like, this is, you know, like I said, for some of you who are listening, who are like, I can't deal, I can't handle a full on fridge because of where I live or the electrical situation, starting some sort of pantry is a great idea. I, I think you could also be putting like menstrual products in there, first aid stuff, all those little like trial size and tester beauty products that you get anytime you place an order with like, you know, like Sephora or Ulta or whatever, you could be putting that stuff out there that is going to make someone's day. You know, all of these little things that we take for granted that become trash are actually so useful for someone else. I, as we were talking about this, I was thinking about there was like in the same time period where I couldn't really afford food, I would go to all these different hotels downtown because I knew that they had free menstrual products in their bathrooms. And I would like pretend I was a guest because I couldn't afford tampons. And one night I ran into this guy at the bar who worked at one of the hotels and I felt really embarrassed. I was like, well, I guess, you know, now I'm not like really in from out of town. And he was like, yeah, I kind of figured that out right away. But like my feeling was like if you were coming to this hotel bathroom and going through this whole ruse of pretending you stay here, there was something in there that you really needed. I was like, wow, thank you. And I, you know, like, I just think like, let's do what we can to make life easier for other people. Life shouldn't have to be suffering. Absolutely, you know.

[Krista Clark]

Absolutely.

[Amanda]

Yeah. And this is just like one small way we can do that. Is there anything like as we wrap this up like that you would tell people, please do not donate this to your community fridge?

[Krista Clark]

I think like opened refrigerator items, expired food, we stay away from raw meat just because there's the possibility of that going bad. Like anything that could make someone sick.

[Amanda]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Krista Clark]

And you know, we try to encourage people to like use gloves when you're cooking meals. You know, like if you want to like get a bunch of containers.

[Amanda]

Right.

[Krista Clark]

And like just try to practice some, some general food safety. Wash your hands, that kind of thing.

[Amanda]

Which you should be doing anyway.

[Krista Clark]

Label, labeling it with like when it, when it was made, what's in it. Try to be conscious of common food allergies. You know, if it has gluten or dairy or if it's whole law. And we. We also avoid alcohol just, you know, just to be precautious. In Texas, we have something called the cottage. I think it's the cottage food laws, where basically. Because, like, it's basically, if you want to, like, make something and sell it out of your house, you don't necessarily need a commercial kitchen. And us having just donated items, we particularly fall under this. So I think that's part of why, like, I didn't have to get a permit or anything is because this is like six feet away from the sidewalk. It's on my private property. And then we're donating stuff. We're not, like, I'm not charging. Right. But, you know, there's people who have, like, those farm stands where they'll, you know, have an honor system and they'll put their eggs out there, their surplus produce or whatever. You know, it kind of falls under, like, those rules generally.

[Amanda]

Yeah, yeah. Where I live, there's a ton of that. Like, you just. It's honor system and you put your change in the jar. Although I assume right now eggs would have, like, an armed guard or something. They wouldn't do that. But I do think, like, the other thing I just wanted to call out here is like, obviously you are in this just, like, incredible spot for hosting the refrigerator, where you just, like, are near a lot of people. It's very accessible. But I'll tell you, like, even if you're listening to this and you live in a small town or a rural area, I still think that this is an incredible idea because is food insecurity is not limited to cities. And you might be saying, like, well, I never see unhoused people around here, but I guarantee there are people around you who are struggling, who cannot afford food, who may not have a place to live, who are living in their car. The whole spectrum of it. No matter where you live geographically and you, like, if you could put this on Google Maps and broadcast it on nextdoor and in other places is you, like, I don't know, the impact would be huge. Even if you feel like you live in a really desolate location.

[Krista Clark]

Absolutely. Yeah. We have someone else who's kind of in South Austin like me, and they're much more so in a neighborhood. But the side of town we're on is technically a food desert. And so there's. There's not as much like, grocery store access. And so even the. This other fridge with this much smaller stand that's. That's like, deep in a neighborhood gets so much Action. Right. Like, people are willing to travel because they need that resource. I'm just fortunate that I'm, like, on some busier streets and right next to a main bus route. So I'm. I'm, like, in prima location. And if you are in a situation like me and you want to do this like you, you're in the golden zone, you know, to have a huge impact.

[Amanda]

Do you have any, like, final thoughts you want to share with anybody about, I don't know, just what you've learned from having a free fridge.

[Krista Clark]

Yeah, I would just say that it is an opportunity to meet people where they're at and be surprised.

[Amanda]

Thank you, Christa, for sharing her passion for community fridges with us. I think passion is the best way to describe it, honestly. I hope after hearing all of that, you're all thinking about starting your own or at least finding one near you that you can support. We have one in town in Lancaster here, but I've been thinking a lot about how we can get more in the rural areas of the county. I might just get started with putting the extra stuff from the garden this year at the end of my dress driveway. I don't know. I'm thinking about all of this right now. If you have questions about community fridges, etc. For Krista, you'll find a link to her Instagram profile in the show notes. And as she said, don't hesitate to reach out to her. I will also share a link to the ATX free fridge project, which has a lot more information and will hopefully also get you really excited about doing something like this. Okay, let's wrap this all up with what's making me feel optimistic this week. And, yeah, believe it or not, it's court cases. Yep. I'm feeling super comforted and hopeful because, believe it or not, and yeah, it sounds almost unbelievable, the US Government is kind of working right now. You see, the US Government is built out of three branches of power. Executive, that's the president. Legislative, that's Congress, and judicial, that's the courts. And I just spelled that out because I learned this week that only about half of Americans know about the three branches of government, and they think that the president just kind of says, what's up? And that's how it goes. But actually, the three branches of government were created as a system of checks and balances, preventing any one branch from having too much power. The legislative branch is supposed to make the laws. The executive branch is supposed to enforce the laws, and the judicial branch is supposed to interpret the laws. Now, sometimes in the past, present administration excluded presidents would sign these executive orders that sort of functioned as laws. But the thing is, whatever they sign, whatever that order may be, it can be undone by the legislative branch passing laws that, you know, negate it, or by the judicial branch via court decisions striking down these executive orders. Right. And it has happened in the past. A great example is, you know, Joe Biden released an executive order basically changing many aspects of the student loan system here in the United States, including forgiving a lot of student loans. And the courts, they dismantle it. And that's too bad. Right. But on the other side of the coin of executive orders, I guess the executive order coin, a lot of these bad, really bad executive orders that Trump has been signing, the courts are also dismantling those. And that's a good thing because that's how the system is supposed to work. Many of his executive orders, along with a lot of Doge actions, I hate saying Doge. It makes me want to fight someone. They're being overturned by the courts right now, and there are way too many examples to list. I'm also just going to say before you say it, the media has been covering this. I hear about them every morning on npr, which, by the way, is free for you to listen to and read Associated Press, similar thing. Reuters, you can find this information out there. And it is being covered. It's just in a world of epic, nonstop news right now. It's just one of many things being covered. So if you've missed the coverage of these court cases, you're not doing anything wrong. There's just too much to absorb right now. Right. But among many cases that are either already, like, have overturned executive orders or are in process are being heard right now or just are on the docket, numerous cases have restored the jobs of civil servants that were fired either because of executive orders or Doge actions. Another case stopped the dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is an important one that was built in 2008, 2009, in the wake of the recession. It protects us from fraud and abuse by banks and lenders, which there was a lot of abuse of consumers happening that kind of caused the 2008 recession, or at least contributed to it greatly with subprime lending and just this massive wave of foreclosures. So the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau protects people from that kind of stuff. And Trump signed an executive order to dismantle it. And now that executive order has been struck down, other cases have foiled the administration's attempts to Freeze federal funding for many different programs, about $3 trillion in funding, including a massive cut to the National Institutes of Health research, many, many other projects, research. It's great that this is happening. And there are several temporary orders in place right now to stop Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. That's headed to the Supreme Court, who will make the ultimate ruling on that. The point is that there are many cases and there are many more on the docket right now challenging everything from Trump's attempts to dismantle refugee programs and several environmental policies, his attempts to completely destroy rights for trans people, and so much more. And listen, I hate that people have to be afraid and that so much time and resources are being spent to fight these hateful policies when we could have had a different president, where instead we could have been making real progress toward a better world and showing up to protest with without fear and all this stuff. We lost that in this election. That's where we are right now. At least the system is holding up as it was designed. And that makes me feel a little bit of comfort. I'm still freaked out every day, but this is good. This is the test of these systems, right? And one last thing that made me smile. It was the first time I had woken up to good news in so long. And of course, the next day I woke up to bad news again. But. But last week here in Lancaster county, we helped keep the state Senate blue in a special election in an extremely, and I mean, like, extremely red part of the county. The first Democratic state senator for that area in almost 150 years. Voting works. People showed up. It was so interesting to read, read on Reddit, on the Lancaster subreddit, people being like, listen, we made it a priority to go vote that day because we weren't sure if we had a chance because this part of the county is always red. But, man, we were just going to do whatever we could. And it was just as simple as showing up and voting. And it worked. That makes me so optimistic for the midterm elections, which, I mean, to be fair, are still one year and eight months away. Who's counting? Still, it makes me think that people are getting it, that we need to vote, that we need to care about the humans around us along with those far away from us. Those people we don't even know that voting can be a part of harm reduction and that when we work together, things can get better, things can be good. We just need to do the work to make them good. Work becomes a lot less work feeling when we're all doing it together and we stop viewing ourselves as the main character, but instead just one character in a large ensemble cast film, perhaps where there are many, many different stories being told and they're all important. We start viewing ourselves as part of that. That's when we can really make life better for everyone. 1 thanks for listening to another episode of Clothes Horse. Written, researched, edited, hosted all the things by me, Amanda Lee McCarty. But no, I am not the main character of Clothes Horse. If you liked what you're hearing, you know, Leave a Rating Leave a Review Subscribe Tell your friends all the stuff. This all helps. If you'd like to support my work financially, there are numerous ways. You can find that in the show notes and in my social media profile on all the platforms. Let's see, we're on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest I think. Did I get them all? Let me tell you, every time I do a post it takes like an hour to get them in all the places. The merch shop is open 247 if you ever want some iron ons or stickers. These purchases also help fund my work here. And of course, last but never leastly, thank you so much to Dustin Travis White for our music and audio support and I will see you all hopefully next week, if not the week after that. I just need to take some time to finish my taxes and it depends if I want to do it next week or right before the deadline. Which to be honest is really more my style. All right, bye.

[Krista Clark]

Sa.