Community Fridge opens in downtown Mesa

MESA, Ariz. (FOX 10) - "If you have too much food in your garden, donate it to us, we'll make sure the people who are hungry get it," Dennis McClung said.

It's a simple concept -- people with food to spare give it to people who are in need of food -- but what sells Garden Pool's Community Fridge apart from your average food pantry is the system.

It's a simple concept -- people with food to spare give it to people who are in need of food -- but what sells Garden Pool's Community Fridge apart from your average food pantry is the system.

"Let's say a farmer at the farmer's market is done for the day and they have produce that they won't be able to use," McClung said. "Bring it on down here, we're really close to you and we'll make sure it goes to the hungry."

Let's say you're about to go on a trip and you don't want to waste the perfectly-good produce you recently purchased. Bring it on down to the Community Fridge in downtown Mesa.

"There's hundreds of low-income housing individuals that live immediately here in the area, so word travels quick and people can't believe that there’s a store with free food," McClung said.

Just ask their first client, Arricka Crayton. After a rough chapter in life, she says she's thankful to have such a caring community.

"You know in the past, we were homeless for six years, so it was a big deal for me, plus I'm a holistic health practitioner, I'm a massage therapist, so I thought it's a really amazing thing that the community is doing," she said.

Crayton says she plans to pay it forward by leaving something delicious for someone else.

"I love to cook, so I'm always overcooking, trying to do the healthiest for my family, so I'll definitely bring stuff," she said.