Give and Take is a short documentary exploring the explosion of community fridges in New York City during the first years of the pandemic. Community pantries and other similar take-and-leave boxes like free libraries existed before the pandemic, but 2020 saw the introduction of fridges to the streets of New York.
Unable to cover the cost of living on a minimum wage salary, many New Yorkers have to choose between rent or food. A few such residents share their opinions during this 11-minute film but the central focus is on those who own and operate some of New York’s more notable community fridges, showing us how they run and where the produce comes from.
The harshest critique I can give Give and Take is that it was far too short. The film really could have used eight or nine more minutes, as there was no room for analysis of the socio-economics that go into creating this underclass of people who rely on charity to eat. My next biggest issue was the lack of focus on those who use the community fridges.
One impoverished woman provides an interview, but the rest of the film’s content focuses on the business owners and volunteers who stock the fridges. While their input is often valuable, their perspectives on poverty in New York City often edge towards triteness as they ponder and thought-exercise what could simply be asked of the many people seen flocking to the community fridges by the documentarian.
These critiques aside, Give and Take is an excellent choice for high school and college-level courses seeking media to teach about the Covid-19 pandemic and economic disparity in the Big Apple or across America. Its short runtime means it will fit into any class schedule and the creation and maintenance of community fridges is an interesting topic. Librarians looking to add short-form documentaries to their collection should consider Give and Take highly. Highly Recommended.
Where does this title belong on public library shelves?
Give and Take belongs on documentary shelves among other short-form docs.
What type of programming could use this documentary?
Give and Take would be an excellent introductory film for any series about Covid-19, economic disparity, or community movements.