The Independent

Petrolia’s Community Refrigerator saved over $200,000 worth of food in 2025, providing over 47,000 meals to people in need.

The community group provides a 24/7 food depot at St. Paul’s United Church in Petrolia for people to get a meal, bread or canned goods. While some comes from food drives within the community, much of it comes from ‘food rescues’ – reclaiming food which cannot be sold in local stores and using it to create meals which are available in the Community Fridge.

Officials say PCR recovered over 23.8 tons of food in 2025 going on 194 food rescues including weekly visits to Glencoe Foodland and twice a week visits to Heidi’s Independent in Petrolia. 

That rescued food has a retail value of $201,380.67 and provided 47,384 meals in the community. 

Reclaiming the food which normally would go to a landfill also has an environmental impact. 

PCR says 202,123 pounds of greenhouse gases were diverted from entering the air and 46,462,037 litres of water was conserved.