Chef and Restaurateur Sera Cuni Launches Feed-Well Fridges
Sera Cuni, local celebrity chef and owner of Cafe Root Cellar in Pittsboro and Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill, has launched her new project, Feed-Well Fridges. Founded in Chatham County, the community fridge program supports the placement of fridges in accessible areas where residents in need lack access to fresh and affordable food options.
The first Feed-Well Fridge, which was delivered to Siler City on Monday, Aug. 28, is located at 219 Chatham Square. The owners of Countryside Collectibles and Antiques agreed to partner with Cuni to bring this free fridge to the Siler City community.
“There are so many local organizations, businesses and community members who are helping to support this project and get it off the ground,” Cuni said. “I am so grateful for their partnership.”
Cuni and her wife Susan White are interested in creating a 501c3 nonprofit so that they can raise money to expand the free fridge program throughout Chatham County, where 1 in 6 people are currently food insecure. Feed-Well Fridges, which will be stocked daily, or as needed, with food from local restaurants and fresh produce from local farmers and grocery stores, are open 24-7 and available to anyone regardless of income.
"No family should have to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their heads,” Cuni said. “A community fridge program may not completely solve the problems of food insecurity in our county, but the Feed-Well Fridges program will put us a step closer to ensuring that no one goes hungry here."
Teams of volunteers will be crucial to the program’s success, Cuni said. Volunteers will work daily with restaurants to collect unsold prepared food and meals and then deliver them to each Feed-Well Fridge. Volunteers will also work to ensure fridges are clean and that all food and meals are properly dated, labeled and disposed of as needed.
By partnering with local restaurants, Cuni said she also hopes to help eliminate food waste and reduce the community’s carbon footprint. Restaurants can produce 25,000-75,000 pounds of food waste each year.
“As a chef, I get really worked up about throwing food away that someone else could use,” Cuni added. “Plus, we only have one planet. So, I’m committed to doing whatever I can do to help divert waste from our landfills and making our communities more sustainable.”
For more information on Feed-Well Fridges, including possible partnerships, please visit their website. Connect with Feed-Well Fridges on Instagram.
About Chef Sera Cuni
Sera Cuni is the chef and owner of two North Carolina restaurants: Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill and a sister spin-off, Cafe Root Cellar in Pittsboro. Classically trained in the culinary arts, Chef Sera launched her career in her home state of Connecticut, where she grew up surrounded by a family of cooks who embraced their Italian and Czech foodie traditions. Her early kitchen experiences, including in restaurants Main and Hopewell, Americus on the Wharf, and Pastis, all in Connecticut, helped to inform and influence the cuisine she loves to cook today – creative and flavorful dishes that reflect the vast diversity of foods across the Midwestern and Southern United States. A founding member of the North Carolina Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier and a selected member of Sterling Silver’s Signature Chefs, Chef Sera devotes her free time to supporting other women culinary entrepreneurs and working with nonprofits to address food insecurity in North Carolina. An avid competitor, Chef Sera has appeared on the Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games and Supermarket Stakeout. In May 2023, Chef Sera was announced as the winning chef on Supermarket Stakeout, taking home a grand prize of $10,000. Connect with Chef Sera Cuni on Instagram.
