A neighbourly treat right down the street
First there was take a penny, leave a penny.
Then the idea of providing a communal space for people to share items proliferated in other formats. Little Free Libraries began appearing, where neighbours exchange books for free by dropping them off in small house-shaped boxes all over the city.
Melissa Castanheira, a Humewood resident, always liked the idea of sharing books this way, but it wasn’t until she got wind of the “Little Free Pantry” idea that she was really inspired.
“Of course I think books are amazing . . . but they don’t fill up tummies,” she said. “I saw a video on my feed on Facebook and thought, I want one, I need to do one.”
Just like their library cousins, Little Free Pantries are small, elevated boxes put up by anyone wishing to participate. The owners of the pantries encourage donations of non-perishable canned goods and toiletries, and invite those in need to come by and pick something up.
Castanheira and her husband dug a hole in their front yard, near Oakwood Ave. and Vaughan Rd., to install their own Little Free Pantry last week, and neighbours have already begun donating goods.
Castanheira believes the pantry is the first of its kind in Toronto, and she’s sure that the idea will spread quickly.
“Most of my neighbours are very happy and they thought this is a great project and they need to help,” Castanheira said.
She likes the fact that the pantry is completely free and accessible to those in her neighbourhood — anyone who has need of it can just walk by and grab something, no strings attached.
“This concept is good in that manner that you don’t have to talk to anyone about it, you don’t need to go through that hard process of saying I’m starving or my family’s starving,” Castanheira said.
Some neighbours were nervous about the idea, while others warned Castanheira that her property could become susceptible to break-ins by people looking for more items.
“I think this is a great idea, hopefully it does not attract the wrong people,” one Facebook user said of Castanheira’s project.
Though she understands their worries, Castanheira said she is undeterred, and that she trusts her neighbours.
“People that live in a walkable distance from you are going to be honest and good because they are inside their own neighbourhood,” she said.
She added that she hopes people do see her Little Free Pantry as an invitation for neighbourly help.
“I hope that if somebody is really in need that they can come and knock on my door and ask for a hot meal,” she said.
The idea was piloted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville, Ark., last year. The organization subsequently put out a website instructing people on how to build and monitor their own.