EBR Housing Authority adds ‘Freegerators’ to help keep produce from community gardens fresh

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The East Baton Rouge Housing Authority added 11 industrial refrigerators to its housing “Communities” in an effort to keep the produce grown in the Harmony Gardens fresh until it can be used by residents.

The “Freegerators” as they have been dubbed, were bought thanks to a $40,000 grant from Healthy Blue.

Each of the parish’s 11 housing communities has a garden or is in the final stages of getting a community garden to help residents grow and pick their own fresh produce.

Prior to the refrigerators, the produce would have to be used nearly immediately after it was picked. Now the vegetables can be stored until they are used.

J. Daniels, the CEO of EBR’s Housing Authority said these refrigerators could not come at a better time.

“Inflation is at the highest it’s been in 30 years, so here is the perfect opportunity for those families to not be burned by the increase in inflation and the increase in food prices because again, they can be right here in their back yard pulling up their own vegetables,” Daniels said.

The produce from the gardens is available to the 3,600 residents living in the communities.

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