{"id":854,"date":"2026-05-25T06:03:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=854"},"modified":"2026-05-25T06:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:03:03","slug":"tucson-freedge-receives-health-department-warning-over-free-food-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=854","title":{"rendered":"Tucson FREEdge receives Health Department warning over free food distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A Tucson nonprofit is clashing with the Pima County Health Department over free food distribution.<\/p>\n

Read more Officers respond to a serious injury crash in Pima County<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pima County Health Department issued the Tucson FREEdge a notice of violation Monday, May 18, for providing food to the public without a permit. The Consumer Health and Food Safety Division said they received a complaint about a refrigerator serving free food to people in a parking lot and determined the site was not in compliance with food codes.<\/p>\n

Representatives from the Tucson FREEdge said those codes don\u2019t apply to them and that they\u2019re acting within their rights to share food with the community.<\/p>\n

Community refrigerator serves hundreds weekly<\/h2>\n

For nearly five months, the community refrigerator has been feeding hundreds of people every week through individual donations and restaurant leftovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes in, they put it in the community refrigerator, people take out what they need, it\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d said Gecko, an attendant for the Tucson FREEdge.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Health Department said they require a permit for any businesses or organizations serving food that\u2019s hot, cold, or temperature controlled in any way. The department said the warning is an opportunity to correct the issue before further action is taken.<\/p>\n

The FREEdge\u2019s executive director said they\u2019re not doing anything wrong, arguing they\u2019re not giving out<\/i> food, but simply providing a place for people to share<\/i> it.<\/p>\n

Visitors say service fills critical need<\/h2>\n

Amber Williams, who has utilized the Tucson Freedge, said the warning feels like an overreaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood shouldn\u2019t be thrown away, especially if it\u2019s got lifespan to it, you know what I\u2019m saying? There\u2019s enough people on the streets that we could really utilize something like this,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

She said having access to a 24\/7 distribution site has been a game changer for her, and that food safety had never been a concern.<\/p>\n

Read more Serious injury crash closes Speedway Boulevard<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want them to shut this down. This is not something I feel like that Tucson should be able to touch,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Gecko said if the Health Department takes further action with the site, it could hurt community members like Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this went away, we wouldn\u2019t be able to reach — literally we\u2019ve reached thousands of people. So that would be a thousand people on a weekly basis or more who wouldn\u2019t have something to eat,\u201d Gecko said.<\/p>\n

Williams said she believes the warning wasn\u2019t issued due to food safety concerns, but because the fridge attracts homeless and lower-income individuals. She said resources like this not only reduce food waste but can also be a lifeline for people struggling to find their next meal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s for their habit or not, it\u2019s the fact that people are fighting over food and we shouldn\u2019t have to,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAmerica — we waste enough food.\u201d <\/p>\n

The FREEdge\u2019s executive director said she expects health inspectors to come back at some point, but said she\u2019s prepared to defend the operation and continue protecting their right to share food.<\/p>\n

====================================================<\/p>\n

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Read more Crews respond to fatal two-car crash near McNeal<\/a><\/p>\n

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The nonprofit argues that their community refrigerator model doesn’t fall under the Health Department’s food codes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTucson FREEdge receives Health Department warning over free food distribution - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tucson FREEdge receives Health Department warning over free food distribution - 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