MUMBAI: The archbishop of Bombay, Oswald Cardinal Gracias inaugurated a community fridge to provide free home-cooked food to poor people in the quadrangle of Holy Name Cathedral, Colaba, on Independence Day. This is the parish traditionally helmed by the archbishop.

Fr Nigel Barrett, spokesman for the archdiocese, said, “The Cardinal felt that poor people in our neighbourhood should not have to go without a meal. Instead of throwing out leftover food, households can deposit the extra food here. Our parish council contributed funds to purchase this heavy duty fridge costing Rs 70,000, which is especially customised to preserve food for a longer time.”

“Parishioners as well as people from all communities are invited to contribute rice, dal and vegetables to start with. The fridge has two doors, which will serve to create separate compartments for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food,” Fr Nigel said. “We have placed foil containers with lids and kept a marker pen for donors to write the date when the food was prepared.”