Champions of Change Award 2025
Asmeret Berhe-Lumax
New York City
The community hero empowering the hungry one fridge at a time
Community, dignity and health are central to One Love Community Fridge (OLCF), a network of refrigerators stocked with free food across New York City and beyond. When Asmeret Berhe-Lumax set up the non-profit in 2020, she wanted to feed the hungry while also giving people the tools to provide for themselves and teaching them the importance of healthy eating and nutrition.
In its first five years, OLCF has redirected almost 5 million kg (11 million lbs) of food, and its founder has now been awarded the first ever regional Champions of Change Award for North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025.
Born in the Eritrean capital of Asmara, Berhe-Lumax moved to Stockholm as a baby when her parents had to leave their country due to war. After high school, she left Sweden for New York, studying finance before a career in fashion. She worked in product development, production and supply chain management, volunteering for community projects in her spare time. But when the Covid-19 pandemic began, she decided to help bridge the gap between families who were going hungry, and farms and restaurants that were wasting excess food.
OLCF started with a single fridge in Brooklyn, installed by Berhe-Lumax and her two teenage daughters. The non-profit now manages 40 fridges across New York and one in Seattle, and there are plans to expand in Atlanta, Baltimore and Los Angeles. With the help of around 700 volunteers and a network of businesses donating food, the organisation provides a safe place from which those in need can collect fresh ingredients, both gratis and free of stigma.
Growing up as an East African immigrant in Sweden, Berhe-Lumax quickly learned that education was "the greatest equaliser", but she recognises that people cannot learn if they don't have access to healthy food.
Through OLCF, she feeds and also educates communities. She does school talks and collaborations with farms, educational institutions and restaurants to ensure people are not just well-nourished, but able to cook for their families. The goal is for each fridge to be self-sufficient, so communities can feed themselves, and OLCF can continue to reach more people.
With ambitious plans to expand one city at a time and to reach more people in communities across the US, Berhe-Lumax has created a sustainable system, making her a worthy winner of the Champions of Change Award 2025.
Read more about Asmeret Berhe-Lumax and her work on One Love Community Fridge
The Champions of Change Award recognises and celebrates unsung heroes of the hospitality sector who are driving positive action in their communities and creating blueprints for a more inclusive society.
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