Opening the Fridge: An Exploration of Mutual Aid and Community Care in Queens, New York

This project embarks on an exploration of Queens Mutual Aid Network, which was started in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This group has provided food assistance, unemployment support, help procuring prescription medicine, and a digital space for community networking to the people of the extended Queens community. I also analyze the Corona community fridge and its implications for community care networks in the wake of overwhelming need. As part of my research, I spent time conversing with community activists about these efforts, and made food deliveries to the community fridges in my area. I then contextualize these efforts in the history of mutual aid theory, and discuss how they relate to -and depart from - traditional understandings of mutual aid. Finally, I ask what community means in this context, calling upon a variety of stories and voices