Dirty nappy spoils community pantry
A community food pantry had to throw away donated food after ‘‘jealous’’ protesters left a dirty nappy on the shelf.
Heather Tanguay helps look after free food stalls, or pa¯ taka, in and around Glen Eden, West Auckland. When the dirty nappy was discovered in the Seymour Rd pa¯ taka in November, a can of chilli beans was also found spread all over the pantry.
Tanguay said the Glen Eden Pa¯taka Free Pantry Group believed it was the work of someone who did not like the way the pantry was helping people in the community. The idea of the roadside pantries is that donated food can be taken free by anyone, no questions asked.
‘‘It was a disgusting way of protesting,’’ Tanguay said.
‘‘Somebody was annoyed . . . some people are jealous that they think that others are getting more food and they’re not.’’
The pantry host spent hours cleaning and disinfecting the stall, and was forced to throw away all the vegetables people had donated.
‘‘Some people are annoyed that it’s not fair that someone’s getting more than they did, or that when they go to the pantry it’s empty,’’ she said.
‘‘But no-one knows, from one day to the next, what’s going to be in the pantry.’’
The pa¯ taka group started the free community food initiative in October and had three more pantries in the suburb. One dedicated solely for toiletries and bathroom products was set up recently.
Tanguay said the initiative had a lot of support from the community. ‘‘More people understand the way it works – some people are just jealous and behave badly.
‘‘All pantries are often cleared up with people taking what they need, but we don’t judge people by how much they take. Nobody knows what a person’s circumstances is at any time.’’
Like it or not, the initiative was here to stay, and more pantries would open as people volunteered to host one, Tanguay said.
It would take more than a dirty nappy to spoil the initiative that was helping people, she said.
‘‘Kindness is something that the community are embracing in Glen Eden, towards each other and to sharing whatever they’ve got. If people don’t want to get on board with this philosophy of give what you can and take what you need, they just need to step out and not spoil it for other people.’’