Couple opens community cupboard in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG — A couple who’ve opened a community pantry outside their home in a poor Winnipeg neighbourhood say they could have started a community library, but the neighbours who knock on their door aren’t looking for “War and Peace.’’

Kelly Hughes and Andrea Vaile live in the Centennial neighbourhood of Winnipeg near several inner-city missions. Their house is attached to a former church which they’re planning to renovate into a theatre and music space, but Hughes says it means they get a lot of people at their door, often asking for food.

“We sometimes had some stuff inside handy that we could give them, but Andrea said maybe we should build one of these free pantries,’’ Hughes explained. Community pantries are a take on the idea of community libraries — where residents build cupboards outside their homes and allow people to take, and leave, items for free. Hughes and Vaile opened their community cupboard on Friday, stocked it with nonperishable food items and toiletries, and posted a message on Facebook asking friends to help them keep it filled.