Hersh’s Fridge is dedicated—with plans to grow

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jonathan Polin speak at the dedication ceremony for Hersh’s Fridge. (Photo credit: Leah Graber)

Rabbi Hody Nemes describes a meeting two years ago that he almost canceled for the grimmest of reasons.  

Nemes—Executive Director of Solu, a Chicago-based Orthodox social action initiative—and others were scheduled to meet on September 1, 2024, to discuss plans for opening a yet-unnamed project in Skokie addressing food insecurity. But on August 31 they, and the world, learned that Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages had been killed by Hamas in the tunnels of Gaza. Goldberg-Polin is the son of Chicago natives Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jonathan Polin.  

“The team said, ‘No, we must meet,’” recalled Nemes at the project’s official dedication this September. Two years ago, the group gathered, cried, and began working on their dream—a kosher community fridge, open 24/7 to provide anonymity, available to all in need. 

With permission and blessing from Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents, the group named the initiative Hersh’s Fridge, honoring Hersh’s life and values. “We heard how Hersh ‘promoted tzedek (justice) and shalom (peace) in the purest way,’” Nemes said, “always ‘seeking to understand the other.’” 

Hersh’s Fridge, run by Solu, has been operating since its soft launch in October 2025. Individuals, families, and organizations work continuously to fill the fridge. It is then maintained by volunteers who clean the site and monitor kashrut and food-safety standards. “This is a community fridge, powered by community,” said Hersh’s Fridge Co-Chair Amanda Goldstein. 

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jonathan Polin, along with other members of the Goldberg-Polin family, attended the dedication in Skokie. Goldberg-Polin put it simply: she loves the project but doesn’t “love that it’s needed.” Imagining a perfect world without hunger—perhaps, she suggested, when Moshiach [the Messiah] comes, she added: “G-d willing Moshiach will come and it will be used as a bookshelf.” 

In addition to displaying a new mural and portrait of Hersh Goldberg-Polin at the site, plans were announced to expand the Hersh’s Fridge project to other locations across the country.  

In the meantime, Goldstein shared that the site in Skokie is being accessed about 50 times a day.  

“While it’s easy to think of an empty shelf as a sign of failure, we see it as a sign of success,” Goldstein said. “The food is needed. The food is being taken.”