There is no longer an outdoor refrigerator at the community center providing free food to those in need.
On Wednesday, the Forest Park Fridge announced that it was closing the community refrigerator outside the north facade of the Howard Mohr Community Center on Des Plaines Avenue.
“While the fridge was built to support our neighbors, operational challenges recently made it clear that our current setup at the Community Center was no longer sustainable,” the Forest Park Fridge posted on Facebook on Sept. 16. “We tried to find a path forward, but we’ve reached a point where we need to step back.”
The post continues to say that the Forest Park Fridge may reopen at another location but is taking the time to talk with similar groups in neighboring communities to see how to best run the refrigerator.
“We are endlessly grateful to everyone who has donated food, volunteered time, and supported this mission,” the Forest Park Fridge said in its Facebook post. “Your generosity showed the best of Forest Park, and we fed a lot of people.”
The fridge opened at the community center in March 2023 as a way for locals who are homeless or food insecure to access free food. Volunteers have restocked the fridge since it launched. Before the fridge opened, the Review reported that the Forest Park Library and District 91 politely declined installing it on their properties.