Petrolia Community Refrigerator (PCR) has won $25,000 from the BASF Growing Home contest.
The funds will help PCR pay for its 24/7 fridge and cupboard located at St. Paul's United Church.
"It's open 24 hours a day, for anybody that's food insecure and needs food. It's free food to anybody that needs it. We've been operating for five years," said volunteer Larry Leckie. "Somebody nominated us, and BASF selected us as one of the three finalists."
The annual community-giving contest supports rural and agricultural communities across Canada.
Nominations and public voting took place in early 2026, with more than 30,000 public votes.
"This year, we got upwards of 400 individual nominations across Canada," said BASF External Communications Manager Kasia Kistelski. "We have a subcommittee in each province that reviews all the nominations. We narrow it down to the top three. Once we get a top three, it goes public on the website, and Canadians can place a vote for who they think should win. So, it's really the community that rallies together to decide who the first-place winner, and second, and third [place winners are]. The PCR largely won thanks to the community."
PCR also helps save thousands of pounds of food from landfills, through a program called Second Harvest, which sees produce from local grocery stores received for distribution.
"People, once they come once, they keep coming back. We figure we have around about 110 people who use the fridge as a source to augment their own income, so I would say a good guess would be 100, and we have about 40 volunteers," said Volunteer and Board Member Les Whiting.
Members from BASF and PCR gathered at St. Paul's United Church on Monday, September 21, for a cheque presentation. The winnings will provide the equivalent of 6,250 meals to those who are food insecure in the community.
