The Red Shoes’ Fill the Fridge July initiative aims to keep the Baton Rouge community fridge fully stocked and accessible for anyone in need.
Located on Government Street in Downtown Baton Rouge, the community fridge has sat near The Red Shoes’ office since 2021. Work to keep the fridge operating, clean and stocked has looked different each year until Dorcas Brandon, associate director of The Red Shoes, began managing the project in 2023.
Brandon explained that she saw the need for a community fridge during Louisiana’s hot summer months while working in Baton Rouge. This sparked her idea to create the Fill the Fridge campaign.
For the past three years, Brandon has worked to keep the fridge stocked for anyone who requires food. The Red Shoes is proud of its “no questions asked” policy, meaning that they never ask why someone is taking food from the fridge or question their circumstances.
“I think sometimes people have a preconceived notion of who benefits from the fridge, but what people don’t understand or maybe realize is the person sitting next to you may have some sort of financial strain at that moment,” Brandon said. “It’s 2026. We see prices going up consistently, and food insecurity is a real thing, particularly in Louisiana.”
Brandon added that she has witnessed people from all walks of life, not just the unhoused, who benefit from the fridge, adding to its importance in the Baton Rouge community.
“I’ve seen people drive across town for multiple families to pick up food from the fridge, and I’ve seen people come on behalf of the elderly to pick up food from the fridge,” said Brandon.
Brandon works with many businesses that are willing to sponsor the fridge by “pledging” to fill the fridge for a specific day. She explained that businesses often want to get involved to be part of a humanitarian effort that directly benefits the community they serve.
Manning Bergeron, founder of Baton Rouge’s House Brew coffee shop, has been supporting the fridge throughout the year. He compared the fridge to community insurance, which he supports by sponsoring it through his business.
“So it’s kind of like making a claim with a policy that never denies you, because the food fridge is for everybody,” Bergeron said. “You don’t need to sign up or do anything to get food out of the fridge. You just show up, look inside and see what you can get.”
Many businesses that sponsor the fridge keep it full by hosting sandwich-making parties and getting their customers involved. The Red Stick Reads is one of them, using its event as a way to assist The Red Shoes’s mission.
“We thought it would be fun to invite our Red Stick Reader community to join us in making PB & J sandwiches together, and once a month, usually on the last Friday of the month, we invite our readers to help us fill the fridge,” said store owner Tere Hyfield.
The camaraderie built around Fill the Fridge July is something that truly embodies the humanitarian spirit of Louisiana, said Brandon. She added that everyone deserves the right to eat, and when people can give, humanity can thrive in abundance.
“That is the beauty of what Louisiana is: We share food. We share food when it comes to a new neighbor coming into the neighborhood, or we share food when there’s a crawfish boil or a barbecue,” Brandon said.
She urged the Baton Rouge community to think of the fridge, located at 2303 Government St., when cooking and set aside food to help someone in need.
Brandon said, “That’s just the nature of humanity, human-to-human, and what it truly turns into is a community fridge. You think about your fellow human.”
To learn more about the Fill the Fridge July initiative and how to get involved, please visit The Red Shoes website.
