Second-year BFA Animation student Kalani Van Meter, president of the Indigenous Student Union, standing in front of SVA's recently launched Community Fridge.
There’s a rich history of inspiring and enterprising student leaders at SVA and that spirit continues with the recently launched SVA Community Fridge, conceived by second-year BFA Animation student Kalani Van Meter, president of the Indigenous Student Union. In recent months, Van Meter approached the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Student Affairs with concern about students who are challenged with food insecurity. She proposed making healthy food options more accessible to community members that need them through a shared fridge. Through the efforts of Van Meter, Student Affairs, the DEI office and the Visual Arts Foundation, the SVA Community Fridge launched on November 29, right after Thanksgiving (it even has its own Instagram page).
Housed in the SVA Student Center, the fridge's hours of availability are the same as the Centers hours of operations—Monday through Friday 10am – 10pm and Saturday and Sunday, 12pm – 6pm. Available in the fridge are fruits, veggies, eggs and bread. Non-perishables such as rice, pasta and granola bars are also on hand. In collaboration with Van Meter, Student Affairs took the initiative one step further and convinced the local Trader Joe’s to donate boxed salads, sandwiches and wraps.
The ethos of the Community Fridges is a simple, ethical and conscientious, “take what you need, leave what you can” approach. Anyone can donate to keep the Community Fridge filled. Using this link from the Visual Arts Foundation, you can donate as little a $1 and up to whatever you can provide. Please indicate “COMMUNITY FRIDGE” in the comment box and use a credit or debit card in order to make a donation.
“As an activist within the city, I’ve participated in holding rallies, memorials, given speeches, and helped with community fridges,” Van Meter explained, describing her intentions and how she became moved and inspired to bring the idea to life.
“One day I saw an online speech given by a trans woman activist and abolitionist in the city who co-founded the Stonewall protests. She said that Stonewall is not her. It’s not one person, but instead, it’s everyone who comes out to protest and puts in the work to do mutual aid. I was really moved by this particular speech, then thought to myself, how I could better the community that I participate in? The idea of a community fridge came to me, so I emailed [DEI director] Dr. Jarvis Watson] and two months later it was up and running.”
“I’ve seen a lot of struggle,” she continued. “By opening a community fridge and providing accessible healthy food options to SVA students, I hope to lift some of the burdens of being a working student in the city, so that someone won’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from again.”
If you're in need, please check out the SVA Community Fridge if you’re a student and follow its progress on Instagram: @svacommunityfridge. Donate if you can and feel free to give Van Meter a follow or virtual high-five on her Instagram (@vinylscratch24) for putting together such a terrific initiative. In addition, please check out a recent episode of the Diversity in 3D podcast below, hosted by Dr. Watson which featured Van Meter and student leader Lisa Marie Montgomery (BFA Design), discussing the recently passed Native American Heritage Month.
In recognition of Native American Heritage Month and/or Indigenous People's Month, Diversity in 3D would like to honor those that identify as Native American and or Indigenous. It is rare that we hear directly from our students, faculty, and staff that identify as such, and so this episode provides a current perspective of the lived experiences of our student leaders, Kalani Van Meter and Lisa Marie Montgomery.
