Copper Country has several organizations working to fight food insecurity in the region, including the Calumet Free Fridge. The local food pantry, free to anyone in need living in the community, fills gaps where others can’t. Ron Rea, who owns the Office Shop, where the Calumet Free Fridge is located, says each month, the pantry serves more than 600 families.
And now we have four freezers, two refrigerators, and about 40 square feet of shelving for canned goods and personal hygiene items, baby items. Getting there, we still have a long way to go. But right now we’re doing about 615 families a month, maybe 30 people a day find their way here. And they have hope for the next day, the next week. So. It’s amazing how it’s grown. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the amazing support of the community. – Ron Rea, Owner, The Office Shop
From produce donated by the farmers market in the summer to a single donor delivering nearly one ton of meat and incredible donations from those able to give what they can, Rea says the community is how the Free Fridge has been able to support so many.
You know, remember the young lady that came in at 20 minutes to eight. We were open early and her baby was starving. The baby was three months old. She was crying. She didn’t have any formula. I didn’t have any formula on the shelf for years. Two days prior, somebody dropped off two full cans of baby formula. Now how does that happen? As she hugged me and her, we cried together. She said you saved my baby’s life. I said the community saved you. And we’re here for you anytime. – Ron Rea, Owner, The Office Shop
Rea says one of the best ways people can support the Calumet Free Fridge is by donating an extra toothbrush or package of toilet paper from the next grocery store stop.
The most popular way is that when you go grocery shopping, pick up a few extra items, even just three or four extra. Pick up a couple of boxes of cereal. That’s always a big thing, cereal. Shelf-stable milk is very important, and you can get that at the Dollar Tree in Houghton for $1.25. Now buy 12, buy a box of shelf-stable milk that doesn’t have to be kept in the refrigerator. So when people make mac and cheese or people have cereal, they have milk to put in there. – Ron Rea, Owner, The Office Shop
The Calumet Free Fridge offers more than just food for those who need help. The Office Shop has several hygiene products available to pick up, and winter clothing items.
People can come in and take what they need for any reason whatsoever. Even, I don’t care where they’re from. I don’t care if they’re from Calumet, L’Anse, Baraga, or Copper Harbor, it does not matter. If you need something, anything, if you need a jacket, if you need gloves for the winter, boots, if school is closed and you don’t know what to do with your child because school is off today, people bring their children here. They play on the floor, we blow up balloons. We run around, there’s a table with crafts. It’s all three, three, or four hours of a mom and a dad on the floor laughing, playing with their child. They were blessed with a snow day. That’s what life is all about. You know, that’s important to me and that’s what we’re striving for. – Ron Rea, Owner, The Office Shop
Those interested in learning more about the Calumet Free Fridge at the Office Shop in Calumet can find more details here.
