Sacramento residents gave away food from outdoor fridges. The city threatened code violations
The city of Sacramento earlier this month sent a notice to an Oak Park homeowner asking her to get rid of an outdoor community fridge that provides free food to those in need.
The refrigerators and pantries, installed by organization Sacramento Community Fridges, allow people to take food for free that is left by their neighbors. The idea is similar to the “take a book, leave a book” little libraries scattered across the city on sidewalks and front yards.
Homeowner Caity Maple, who plans to run for City Council this year, installed a refrigerator and pantry featuring a colorful painting in her side yard on Feb. 9, she said. On Feb. 11, the city sent her a “notice of alleged violation” — the result of a community complaint.
“You are responsible for correcting all code violations within 21 days,” reads the notice mailed to her home, which is near the border of Curtis Park. “The city is requesting you voluntarily comply and correct the violation. Property owners are responsible for the correction of any violation that may exist and are also subject to any cost recovery fees and/or administrative penalties assessed for non-compliance.”
The city automatically sends a “notice of alleged violation” after a complaint is submitted, but the city will most likely work with Maple in this case, said Kelli Trapani, a city spokeswoman.
“Per the Sacramento city code, an appliance such as a refrigerator cannot be stored outdoors and can be considered junk and debris when stored outside because these appliances are not designed for outdoor storage,” Trapani said. “However, the city understands the intent behind community refrigerators and has worked with organizations such as the Sacramento Community Fridges to ensure these appliances are placed in a safe area and are operating without electrical wires or components that can cause harm to the public.”
Larry Young Sr., 51 of Sacramento, hopes the refrigerator will stay. He stopped by Thursday morning on his bicycle to pick up a loaf of bread and a container of baby food.
“I count on this place,” said Young, who lost his job as a janitor during the pandemic and sleeps in his car most nights. “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not bothering nobody. There’s no mess here.”
Young sometimes gets food at the River City Food Bank in midtown, he said, but it is only open two days a week. Other families run into the same problem, Maple said.
“Hardworking families across the state, not just in Sacramento, are grappling with an issue that should be a basic human right: access to quality food,” Maple said. “Most of the people I see using the community fridge are local families driving up in their cars, often with kids, on their way to or from school. I am proud to host this community fridge, which exists in the spirit of mutual aid for those families and is an example of community-driven action”
Sacramento tenant removed outdoor fridge
While Maple’s refrigerator might be able to stay, a code violation resulted in the removal of a community fridge in midtown in 2020.
In fall 2020, the city issued a formal code violation over a refrigerator on 25th Street in midtown located outside a rental house, just weeks after tenant PJ Andrews placed it there.
“The city attempted to work with the operator of the community refrigerator to ensure it was in a safe, building code compliant place,” Trapani said. “However, the property owner decided to remove the refrigerator and convert the space to a community pantry instead.”
The refrigerator was better than the pantry because neighbors often cooked full meals, such as soups and chilis, and put them in containers for the taking, Andrews said. Fruits and vegetables also stay fresh longer in the fridge.
“It’s ridiculous for code enforcement to try and apply laws which don’t fit the use employed in these fridge/pantry scenarios,” Andrews said. “And then, in my case at least, pressure a tenant through the use of threat of fine, misdemeanor charge, or my landlord to get me to comply.”
Other community refrigerators
A refrigerator can also keep milk and dairy cold. Young got a gallon of milk and a box of cereal at the Oak Park refrigerator last week, he said.
“We ate off that for two days,” he said.
The city last year issued a notice to another house in midtown, near 13th and F streets, but in that case, city inspectors found the refrigerator was in a safe place and contained no wires that were a hazard to the public, Trapani said. It is still there.
Also last year, the city issued a “notice of alleged violation” following a compliant to a property that was hosting a refrigerator on Florin Road in South Sacramento. It is no longer there, but the city did not require the resident to get rid of it, Trapani said. The organization is searching for a new location for a fridge in South Sacramento, according to its Instagram page.
Open community refrigerators at 3349 44th Street in Oak Park and 425 Lampasas Avenue in North Sacramento do not appear to have any notices issued to them, according to a city website.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 3:00 AM.
