The Hungry Among Us

"I was trying to find something [that would bring people together in an effort to help others] that was universal and everyone can agree on -- and everyone has to eat."
"[Since then the Lowcountry Blessing Box project has] exploded."
"My response [to people who complain] has been that poor people are always here -- you can't judge somebody based on what you're observing." 
"Everybody goes up to the project the exact same way — whether you’re putting food in or taking food out. So no one knows what position you’re in."
Katie Dahlheim, Little Free Pantry network, South Carolina

"The reason people were so ready for this [Community Food Box Project] is because they see people in their neighbourhoods every day who are hungry, and this is something they can do about it."
Sierra Nuckols-Cosby, Little Free Pantries, Indiana

The Little Free Pantry

Most people have seen Little Free Library initiatives where people leave books they have read for others to pick up and take advantage of and leave behind books of their own. Usually there is a boxed arrangement of some kind with shelving set up innocuously in a public space and people are invited to help themselves, free of charge. It's a great way to spread books and the love of reading around; people are able to dispose of books they've read and offer to others the chance to read a book they might otherwise not know exists. The book, or others like it, can be returned to the shelves after reading and the entire community is set to be enriched by this mode of sharing.

The concept appealed for its simplicity and its open-handedness and its benefit to communities, and it inspired a global movement called Little Free Pantry, giving to those in need, with 24-hour access and no questions asked. Every community has its local Food Bank and its purpose is similar albeit not spontaneous. To qualify, people are screened to ensure they have access to Food Banks, an organized affair unlike the free pantries which ask no questions, are always open and accessible and are meant to serve without intruding.

The founder of the Little Free Pantry used the free library project as her model. Jessica McClard meant community members and local businesses to become involved, just as they have with free book access in over 90 countries, with free-standing boxes appearing in cities making books available to the interested. The first free pantry box was built by Ms. McClard in 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas on the grounds of a church. Arkansas, she stated, has always been one of the most food-insecure states in the country. She stocked diapers and hygiene products, along with non-perishable food.

The 2008 recession had a profound effect on communities in the United States, just as it did all over the world where recovery is only yet still in progress. A September 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated that over 11 percent of the American population live in "food-insecure" households. A damning statistic that is reflected all over the developed world, in very fact. Harvard University research in 2017 showed "severely burdened" households spend half of what secure households do on food.

Using the motto "Feeding Neighbours, Nourishing Neighbourhoods", the Little Free Pantry movement in four years has expanded to 670 recorded projects. Not only has it seen pick-up across the United States but abroad there are now similar projects in Europe, Canada, South Africa, the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia, according to Ms.McClard. South Carolina has the distinction of boasting one of the larger Little Free Pantry networks, born out of its founder Katie Dahlheim motivated two years ago by a nationally polarized atmosphere and deciding to build four pantries from old cabinets,

nets.

Two years later, close to one hundred such boxes have spread throughout a third of South Carolina. When children are out of school in the summer, their families must face the need to feed them three meals daily, and these boxes respond to that need for impoverished families. In Indianapolis, old newspaper distribution boxes are the vehicle of choice for Sierra Nuckols-Cosby. In 2016, she realized the city had "food deserts" where people lack access to grocery stores and fresh produce. And so she used the decommissioned newspaper boxes for Little Free Pantries.

Two preteen girls stocked their refurbished dresser with fruit, canned goods, toothpaste, children's books and other items in Alexandria, Virginia. Twelve-year-olds, Amanda Santana and Anna Rissi, attached a sign to their cabinet that read "Take what you need, leave what you can", and the residents of the area make it their business to regularly stock the "pantry" with non-perishable food, toiletries and toys, readily available free, to anyone needing them.