Hand from p 25 Recently, the organization received a large donation of Delta Air Lines goodie bags to give out. Local dispensaries also contribute. Nature’s Medicines, a dispensary on McDowell Road, provided the nonprofit with a storage space in its parking lot. There, Broselaw meets with food and water donors every Thursday morning. “We then provide our volunteers with need for a food handlers license. “You can, however, without a food handlers license, hand out licensed-kitchen prepared food, produce, and perishable items.” Those items can also be placed in any of the community fridges that Phoenix and Tempe have through the Heat Relief Network. Williams drops off water and food at community refrigerators by the Human Services Campus at 204 South 12th Avenue in Phoenix. The HSC location has two Mike Madriaga cases of water and food, and our volunteers give the stuff out on the street and in the community refrigerators,” Broselaw says. Some volunteers are drivers for Lyft and Uber, and they pick up and drop off water and groceries at fridges between gigs. Regardless of occupation, Broselaw is always looking for more volunteers. Recently, she and Williams attended the Beat Therapy 2k concert in Flagstaff, an event that raised money for the homeless community in Phoenix. Naturally, they handed out water. At the concert, Williams networked with artists Lil’ Flip, MIMS, and Twista. Williams spoke with Twista after he performed his 2004 hit “Slow Jamz.” “I gave him a hug and our Tom’s Palms business card,” she says. “I’m here to let everyone know about what we do. Lil’ Flip might come out to one of our events.” A Network of Fridges Part of spreading that word includes education. Williams works to inform do-gooders who leave leftovers in the community fridges. “To protect our volunteers, Tom’s Palms 28 helps educate our helping hands with local procedures and laws in place. It is not legal to give home-prepared food to an unshel- tered person,” she says, explaining the The fridge by 29th Avenue and Cactus Road in North Phoenix was packed. on-campus refrigerators about a mile east of the I-17. In addition, there are four more fridges within a block around the campus. In the Garfield neighborhood, there’s one on 1332 East Taylor Street, Broselow adds Phoenix New Times visited two addi- tional community refrigerators last month, which were posted on the Feed Phoenix Instagram page. One was in front of a house on West Wethersfield Road in North Phoenix. The fridge and freezer were packed with both food and water. Then we visited a stainless steel fridge at 1245 East Diamond Street. It was almost empty. Throughout the Valley, the need for free food and water remains strong. Phoenix Rescue Mission estimates that in 2022, “more than 9,000 people in Maricopa County have no place to call home.” That’s a 244 percent increase since 2017. Broselow estimates the true number is over 10,000. “We need more water bottles, food, and volunteers for our unsheltered [people],” she says. Community fridges placed at homes and businesses in publicly accessible areas are one place to start. AUG 25TH–AUG 31ST, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
