As you would be aware, homelessness is a rising issue.  Statistics show that in the 2nd quarter of 2020, approximately 20,000 children were homeless across Australia. People who are homeless can be trapped in a downward spiral of homelessness, and they are stripped of their basic rights as human beings; one of these being food.  Research has shown that homeless people are also eating infrequently, with them consuming a mere 14 meals per week. This is a stark contrast to a person who eats regular meals, not including snacks, which is 21 meals. 

When they can afford to buy food, it is often loaded with fat, salt/sugar. This is because the cheapest foods are often the unhealthiest. Impacts of this include being under/overweight, poor dental health such as decay, constipation, headaches, poor mental health, poor physical growth and sleep problems. Homeless children are more likely to have increased behavioural problems and poor concentration. It also affects their emotional & psychological development. Before we can even think about moving up to the higher needs on Maslow's Hierarchy, we have to have food first.

The ideal solution to this problem would be something that is easily accessible all year round, environmentally friendly and economical, so the costs do not outweigh the benefits. Such a solution is the free food fridges. A free food fridge is, as it's name suggests, a fridge that provides nutritious foods for the homeless.

I understand that people with a home might go and take free food, and that there might not be enough food to give away. I argue that the fridge could potentially be monitored with cameras/sensors that are powered by renewable energy such as solar panels, and that the fridge could be supplied with the food that grocery shops decline. This would also be advantageous as there would be less wastage, since only truly inedible food such as rotten fruit would be disposed of. This would also stop dumpster diving, since the cause of dumpster diving is that edible food is thrown out into large bins, where the homeless and other "poor" people dumpster dive to gain access to the (free) food (that has been previously rejected).

Through all the information above, you can see why having a free food fridge would benefit the homeless.