Photography by Emma Kazaryan.

In February 2020, Thadeaus Umpster opened his first community fridge—right in front of the building where he lives in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Since then, he’s helped many others find fridges and organize donations. He calls it an an anarchist network of community fridges and mutual aid. These fridges address twin problems—hunger and waste—but Thadeaus says they are more than that. They are a place where neighbors get to know each other and community bonds are formed.

The day starts like many—with an almost empty fridge.

Fridge volunteers meet in the Brooklyn Navy yards for a large pick up from the mutual aid organization One Community. Part of the donation is made up of lychees. Lots and lots of lychees.

On the loading dock, volunteers sort and load everything that will fit in their trusty red truck.

After a short drive to the fridge in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bed Stuy, Andrea and her red truck take a break. New volunteers arrive and the unloading begins.

Neighbors stop to help unload and do a bit of shopping.

Fitting everything inside is a special challenge but a fully stocked fridge is a thing of beauty that supports and is supported by this community.

The fridge is stocked. Volunteers have gone home. Thadaeus coordinates the next donation.

Each day, across the country, volunteers like Thadeaus help build community and feed their neighbors through dedicated attention to community fridges. To find out how you can do the same, visit Community Fridges 101.

The post A Day in the Life of a Community Fridge appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Our first president, George Washington, was born into a family of middle-class tobacco planters in Virginia. He was once described as the “foremost farmer” of America, experimenting with crop rotation, fertilizer, and new equipment. He believed in making America a key agricultural player.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, although not born into a family of farmers, had always had a keen interest in nature. He studied biology at Harvard, and was a talented naturalist and ornithologist. His love of nature prompted him to acquire several pets, including a barn owl, a pony, and a one-legged rooster. When he temporarily left politics after the death of his first wife, he moved to the Dakotas to operate two ranches. During this time, he learned to hunt and rope like a regular cowboy. This cemented the frontiersman image he retains today.

Woodrow Wilson

While not all presidents could ride a horse like Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson did his part to lend aid to farmers during the early part of the twentieth century. In 1916, Wilson passed the Federal Farm Loan Act. The law was intended to increase credit to rural families. These loans allowed farmers to compete with big business, decreasing the likelihood of farming monopolies.

Jimmy Carter

And of course there’s our 29th president, Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia. The peanut farm had been the business of Carter’s father, who also operated both warehouse and store, but after his death, Carter took it upon himself to run the land. Applying skills acquired from his Bachelors of Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, the farm began to prosper once again. By the time he ran for governor of Georgia in 1970, he was considered a wealthy farmer, all thanks to the simple peanut. Having been such an integral part of his life, the nut was on display at his presidential inauguration in 1977.

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The post From The Library of Congress Archives: Historical Photos of Presidents Tied to Agriculture appeared first on Modern Farmer.