If you visit or pass by the Newmarket Food Pantry’s community fridge, you likely have a received a cheery greeting from Duke Deger.
It’s been more than a year since Deger began volunteering at the community fridge outside Newmarket Public Library.
And he has been there on his birthday, Christmas, and every other holiday on the calendar because as he puts it, he’s going for a "record."
Originally from Toronto, Deger has lived in Newmarket for nearly 33 years and can’t imagine not showing up each day for the community he loves. He said he’s never found a community quite like Newmarket’s and that’s why he’s never leaving.
“I’ve been here everyday,” he said. “I don’t take a day off because I enjoy being here and talking to people.”
After his wife, Anne Lockerbie-Thom, passed away a few years ago, Deger said he became a shut-in for close to two years. But then he was invited to the community fridge by the food pantry and it changed his life.
“I was here for a month taking food and they asked me to volunteer, I couldn’t say no,” he explains. “It was exciting to be part of something once again, I hadn’t been in a long time.”
Injecting himself back into the community wasn’t easy, and he had lost 87 pounds after his wife passed, but he found purpose again in his volunteerism.
“It was sudden and I miss her so much,” he said. “But I enjoy doing this so much, I want to continue doing it for as long as I can.”
A former entertainer, Deger hasn’t been able to perform in years, but has found that volunteering has allowed him to access that part of himself.
“I used to be a musician and I miss that," he said. "This allows me to be an extrovert once again."
Since getting involved as a volunteer at the community fridge, Deger said he has met hundreds of people and he greets each one of them to ensure they have a friendly experience and become more comfortable accessing the fridge.
“It’s exciting, it’s almost like Christmas,” he said. “You meet a lot of people and people get something they need. It’s been really rewarding.”
Each morning, Deger cleans the fridge and helps with deliveries before he welcomes those who are accessing the fridge. Then, he does it all again.
“This is a great thing because I see all levels of people and they all have needs,” he said. “A little food can make somebody happy and people like to know a friendly face is standing here to help.”
Vesna Mitchell, resource development co-ordinator for Newmarket Food Pantry, is the lead on the community fridge and she said having someone like Deger is immensely important.
“He’s been a vital part of the project,” she said. “He helps the other volunteers, he helps with receiving food, and he cleans the fridge twice a day. He also recruits everyone who uses it to help out and keep it clean. He saves me so much time and makes it easier if we’re short on volunteers.”
The harmonizing effect that Deger provides at the fridge is also something Mitchell mentions as key for making community members feel welcome.
“He’s a very easy-going guy,” she said. “We call him the "gentle giant," that’s his nickname among our volunteers. Other community fridges don’t have someone like this to make sure things run smoothly.”
Mitchell said before Deger became an official volunteer, in her other volunteers reports they would mention the "gentle giant" was there helping.
“They would tell me how much of a great help he is,” she said. “He then shared with me how much the fridge helped him and how much he appreciated the fridge. At that point, he was just so much help that he was an unofficial volunteer, so I talked to my executive director and we made him official.”
The concept of the community fridge is to take what you need and leave what you can with no judgment.
“It’s very important to have something like this in the community,” Deger said. “It’s amazing how much good it does.”
“This helps the environment and people can supplement their food,” added Mitchell. “It helps people who need access and can’t get access while reducing food waste and building community.”
Those who want to get involved with Newmarket’s community fridge program can by contacting the Newmarket Food Pantry at 905-895-6823, ext. 140.
