Theresa Fulton coordinates 47 blue food-sharing cabinets across Tompkins County — open to anyone, stocked by the community, no questions asked. She joined Mutual Aid Tompkins during the pandemic without any background in community organizing (her PhD is in science education), and took over coordinating the cabinet network in 2022 when it had roughly thirty.The cabinets started when someone saw a little free library and thought: what if that was food? Volunteers built them, placed them from downtown Ithaca to Dryden, Freeville, Spencer, Lansing, and the rural towns in between. When Spencer lost its only grocery store to a fire in September 2026, Mutual Aid Tompkins added a second cabinet there within weeks.In this episode:What mutual aid actually means in practice — and how it differs from charityHow 47 blue food cabinets serve a county of 100,000 people, stocked anonymously by the communityWhy toilet paper and diapers are harder to get than food (you can't buy them with SNAP or WIC)The accessible cabinet designed with disabled residents — 30 inches off the ground, reachable from a wheelchairHow a Facebook group of nearly 10,000 members connects people who need help with people who can give it often on the same dayHow the whole operation runs on a few thousand dollars a year and a handful of committed volunteersWhat Theresa would tell a small group wanting to start something like this in their own communityResources and LinksMutual Aid Tompkins: mutualaidtompkins.comBlue cabinet locations: mutualaidtompkins.com/food-sharing/locationsTompkins County Workers' Center (fiscal sponsor): tcworkerscenter.orgFriendship Donation Network: friendshipdonations.orgCommunity Foundation of Tompkins County: cftompkins.orgPeter Kropotkin (mutual aid theory): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_KropotkinIthaca Local Economy Lab: ithacalocaleconomylab.comThe Practically Real Team:Jake Gribschaw - Technical Advisor linkedin.com/in/jgribschawStacey Cornelius - Associate Producer agencyofwords.comSonia Simone - Content Strategist remarkable-communication.comErin O'Shaughnessy - Creative Consultant psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/erin-o-shaughnessy-depoe-bay-or/373808Yen Ospina - Artist yenospina.comCarsie Blanton - Musician carsieblanton.comPhotography by Forest Floor Creatives forestfloorcreatives.comProduced by Practically Real Enterprises, LLC. Hosted by Dia