Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Do we need a community freezer?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Oct 4, 2022, at 9:58 AM, Karen Gimnig Nemiah <gimnig [at] gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> River Song cohousing is discussing whether we need a community freezer.
> Some of us think it is essential for common meals and bulk buying.  Others
> think it will fill up over time with unclaimed and unusable mess with a
> carbon footprint.  We'd love to know your experience on this.

Someone will have to take responsibility for triage, but ours are hardly used 
except just before a big meal. I just checked: the freezer has some ice cream 
bars with a name on them — probably someone whose own freezer isn’t freezing 
cold enough. And a package of food labelled "for the potluck" that apparently 
didn’t get cooked on Sunday. The refrigerator door is stuffed with condiments 
but the shelves are empty except for an apple cider that is saved for the next 
potluck. A guest has a few things in the guest drawer.

It probably depends on what kind of meal program you have. Our meals are 
sourced by the cook for that meal and rarely require storage longer than 1-2 
days. Same for freezer. If cooks are planning several meals at a time, it might 
require more storage for longer periods.

Even when we make collective purchases, they are normally distributed or picked 
up the same day and don’t require refrigeration. Sometimes one of the CSA 
orders delivered in boxes to the breezeway will be forgotten. Someone will put 
it in the fridge and advertise it for the taking.

We do have very proactive triage that keeps monitors things. Pretty much 
nothing is abandoned. Any cakes, cookies, etc., left for anyone who wants a 
serving are left out on the serving counter, announced by email, and quickly 
disappear.







Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org