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Serving the Community through Design: Bergmeyer x YouthBuild Boston’s Community Fridge Project

Colorful plastic storage baskets stacked inside a refrigerator shelf with fresh produce.

The underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) among design students is a concern for everyone in our professional community. One way Bergmeyer is trying to address this disparity is by creating design education opportunities for local students at the K-12 levels that will introduce them to architecture and design. Members of our team have partnered with YouthBuild Boston’s “Designery” to create an after-school design opportunity for their student interns focused on an important issue in their communities: Food insecurity.

According to Project Bread, the food security of people of color in Massachusetts was disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, 1 in 6 white households with children in Massachusetts were food insecure versus 1 in 3 Black households and 1 in 4 Latino/a households. While there are government programs to assist residents in need, the eligibility requirements exclude many families from accessing these benefits.

Architectural sketch of a fridge enclosure with open doors and shelving stocked with food items, showing scale.

Community fridges are designed to offer essential groceries to those in need. All one has to do is walk up to them and “take what you need, give what you can.” These “Freedges” are run entirely by volunteers who coordinate, maintain, and oversee the offerings. There are some community fridges located in and around the Greater Boston area (see current locations), but there is a growing need for more. Part of the challenge for the students' design of a refrigerator shelter was to address the difficulties many people have with getting access to fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods.

Red panel listing community needs; photos of crowded space, busy street, diverse group, and elderly couple.

Bergmeyer had several goals in partnering with YouthBuild Boston on this volunteer project. We aimed to connect students to a design challenge that will positively impact their community, give them exposure to how we as designers work in the real world as a design collaborative, and create valuable associations with the students should they need mentors on their design paths. We hope that this partnership will result in the construction of a new community fridge shelter in Boston and help these students see their design ideas come to life.

Students and adults collaborate on a community fridge project in a bright studio with wooden tables and green flooring.Students working in a design studio at a wooden table with materials and at a computer with 3D modeling software.Students work at wooden tables in a bright studio space with lime-green walls, whiteboards, and design materials.Two photos of participants working on design materials at a table indoors and examining a map outdoors.Workshop space with wooden tables and industrial ceiling; 3D rendering of red wooden structure with green roof and porch.

The students in action designing the fridge shelter at YouthBuild Boston.

Before: Serving the Community through Design: Bergmeyer x YouthBuild Boston’s Community Fridge Project After: Serving the Community through Design: Bergmeyer x YouthBuild Boston’s Community Fridge Project

Slide to see excerpts from the student's design process.

To see this project through to completion, we are asking for support from our AEC community. If you’re interested in contributing by donating materials, helping to build the shelter, or by creating another educational design challenge for students with YouthBuild Boston, please reach out to community@bergmeyer.com.

Architectural drawing of a tall refrigerator unit with storage shelves, shown with a silhouette for scale reference.Architectural sketch of a large refrigerated enclosure with open doors, shelving, and "Free Food" signage for scale.Mood board with warm wood interiors, red barn architecture, community spaces, and design sketches for a public art project.Architectural diagram showing exterior material specifications for a community fridge project, including roof and doorExploded view of wooden and metal shelving components showing panels, railings, and a ramp for a food storage structure.3D site plan showing white building footprints and surrounding streets, parking, and green spaces in an urban neighborhood.

Scroll through excerpts from the student's design presentations for the community fridge project. During YouthBuild Boston’s Designery spring session, Bergmeyer worked in tandem with another organization called Haley House Farm & Garden, a Boston-based farm and community garden. The students that partnered with Haley House were asked to create habitats for beneficial pollinators.