New Little Free Pantry
A Sunday School class at United Lutheran Church was looking for a way to help the community, Pastor Karen Fowler-Lindemulder explained. The class included a man with carpentry skills who was willing to put them to work.
Thus, a Little Free Pantry was born.
The pantry is located at the edge of the church’s parking lot on Cooper Road, just before the intersection with Forest Hills Boulevard. The site was carefully chosen so that the community can come and go, adding or taking groceries privately. It’s not visible from the church office.
The concept of Little Free Pantries is slowly spreading. Little Free Pantries are structures where people in need can obtain a few groceries, or some hygiene supplies. The contents are replaced by community members. There may be hats and gloves in the winter or sunscreen in the summer. It’s up to the donors.
At United Lutheran, the church custodian will oversee the pantry. Some church members will probably leave their contributions inside to be added to the pantry when needed, Fowler-Lindemulder said.
“We’ve considered what will freeze if left out in the winter,” she said, “and we’ll consider temperatures in the summer, too.”
The church is a part of a residential neighborhood, but Fowler-Lindemulder believes the pantry will be used.
Some of their close neighbors may be living paycheck to paycheck and that means an emergency can send them over the edge. They may need a can of soup or a box of macaroni and cheese to keep from going hungry. Some families may travel a bit to find the pantry. She believes word will get around about its existence.
“There’s a real excitement in the community to do this,” she said.