I stopped by my closest community fridge today, and left some pasta, tuna, (unopened) baking supplies and tea. There’s a community fridge on Baldwin near Sanagan’s, as well as a community fridge in the alley of the Walker Road Baptist church at Walmer and Lowther.
If you receive foodie gifts you know don’t like before opening , consider leaving them at a Community Fridge!
I’m off to drop off some jarred antipasto , jams and other still good-but - not-to-my-taste stuff that’s in my pantry that I won’t be using.
They’re fairly new to Toronto. I like that you can leave a bag of potatoes, or some ripe tomatoes in the fridge. It’s also less embarrassing for someone who needs food, to open the door and take what they need, rather than line up on the street.
The sad thing, is that when I opened the door to my community fridge, all that was inside it on a Wednesday morning was a lonely potato and some plastic forks and knives.
There’s one community fridge a 10 minute walk from my apartment, and another one a 20 minute walk away.
I don’t think too many other cities in Ontario have set up community fridges.
One is outside a Baptist Church, another is outside an indie butcher shop.
There are volunteers for the charity that clean them, or check on them, I think. The one near the church is more of an insulated pantry, so it’s not a working fridge. The one I opened was spotless.
CEDMEX canned Abalone from any fine Chinese dried seafood Emporium
Hokkaido Soy marinated Ikura from J-San Sushi & Market
Assorted homemade dark chocolates ( especially the liquor infused ones ) from DUO
…and a bottle of Louis Roederer Millesime Rose Brut Champagne from LCBO! ( good luck finding one! )
We have one in downtown Ottawa on McLaren. They have pantry shelves and a fridge with a small freezer compartment. Like the ones @Phoenikia is referring to, it is cleaned out by the volunteers who work for the charity that runs the fridge. There are a couple of stores and one bakery to my knowledge that donate slightly blemished fruits and veggies and day old bread but the rest seem to come from personal donations but individuals aren’t donating much due to the cost of living these days. I pass by it on the way home from work and most days the pantry and fridge are empty. I ran over during my lunch break today to donate a few bananas I knew I couldn’t eat before they spoiled and someone came by and scooped them up right away.
I spend Christmas on my own but I like giving out locally made products as hostess gifts. Apple cider from Hall’s Apple Market, Michael’s Dolce jams and Olivia chocolates are some things I like to give out. I personally like the kimchi from Raon Kitchen but I just buy a jar for myself because a lot of my friends either don’t know what kimchi is or don’t like it. Oh well more for me
I recently had covid (again!) but Christmas at my place is usually pretty quiet anyway. The first time I got covid was almost two years ago (January 2022) and even though I limited my outings to only a few places and during quiet times I still got sick This year I will be going for Christmas dinner at The Shore Club (fancy restaurant) then hunkering down with a pile of books and spending the majority of my holidays curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a book. I may leave home long enough to go on a museum visit but the rest of the time will be spent at home reading.
I have been sending people the Sanagan’s Tourtière ($28.99) at Xmas for the last 3 years.
I haven’t tried the ones mentioned in the listicle. (Cumbrae’s, Gôuter, Rosedale’s Finest, Pâtisserie Le Cicogne, La Bréhandaise, Charmaine Sweet Studio)
I like Anthony. I don’t know that he is any more of an authority on tourtière than any of us posting here!
I picked up little bags of Florentines and a stollen at Noctua.
A nice Panettone from BaNoi.
Great Cookie Box and homemade hazelnut torrone (nougat) from Coco’s (walk-ins)
Mini pistachio panettone from Eataly, mini traditional boxed Panettone from Alimentari.
Pugliese almonds from Alimentari, some sort of Pugliese almond croccante from Alimentari, Italian pistachios from Alimentari.
I have received a nice Clementine Marmalade from Gôuter.
SOMA Chocolates are a must include for me. One of the finest bar of bean-to-bar chocolate that I’ve ever had was from SOMA. We have someone local (Sunita De Tourreil) who used to run a craft chocolate shop/ subscription service and regularly judge chocolate contests. She rates SOMA top three in the world.
People who aren’t familiar with good chocolate always seem to think European/ Belgian chocolate makers are the best. North American craft chocolate makers are well ahead of them, and SOMA is at the top of that pile. Somehow ‘American/ Canadian’ chocolate maker doesn’t have that cachet yet. Spread the message with your SOMA chocolates.
This year I will be going for Christmas dinner at The Shore Club (fancy restaurant) then hunkering down with a pile of books and spending the majority of my holidays curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a book. I may leave home long enough to go on a museum visit but the rest of the time will be spent at home reading.
