Snow Library Trustees Back Community Refrigerator Funded by Barnstable County Grant

ORLEANS — April 7, 2026 — Snow Library trustees signal support for a Health Department-backed free community refrigerator to be installed in the library vestibule. At the April 7 meeting, Heather Holbrook, assistant health agent with Orleans Health and Human Services, and Alex Fitch presented the plan, which would place a Barnstable County-grant-funded refrigerator in the vestibule alcove for use by any resident without income verification; the Family Table Collaborative is expected to supply prepared meals. Trustees raised questions about circuit capacity, summer heat in the vestibule, and preventing patrons from bringing food inside, with Holbrook assuring the board that "we would not ask any of the library staff to look over it." Chair Jamie Balliett confirmed consensus support without a formal vote. In other business, the Friends of Snow Library reported year-to-date net income of approximately $71,500, first-time donors more than doubling to 198 this fiscal year, and the addition of a new $500 Benefactor membership tier; and Balliett noted that $4 million for new library design in 2028 remains in the town's Capital Improvement Plan, heading to Town Meeting in May.