FEED THY NEIGHBOR

Little Free Pantries are feeding needs all over the country and starting to sprout up in Alabama too.

know this is what I am supposed to be doing,” says Jenny Milwee. She isn’t motivated to do her part for the Little Free Pantry she supplies in Clanton. She isn’t driven. She’s called. And Milwee believes we are all called to do for others in some way. Her way is with food.

Milwee is in charge of providing the canned goods, cereal, crackers, peanut butter, beans, rice, Kleenex, toothpaste and more for the small box on a post out front of her church. The box is a Little Free Pantry and is one of thousands in neighborhoods and cities across the country, and never has it or its companions been more crucial.

BY JENNIFER S. KORNEGAY

but recent rises in food prices have only exacerbated the issue. As the cost to feed ourselves inches upward, so too does the number of people who find themselves without enough nutritious food. The Little Free Pantry movement addresses food insecurity and does it in a highly accessible way.

The now-global initiative began when one lady saw her neighbors struggling and took action to help. In 2016, in Arkansas, the founder of the Little Free Pantry project took a big idea and executed it in a small way, choosing a hyper-local approach. Inspired by the cheery wooden boxes of Little Free Libraries that contain books for folks to share, she affixed a box to a wooden pole in her community and stuffed it with food and personal hygiene items. Anyone who needed something in that first Little Free Pantry was encouraged to take it. And those who had a bit more than they needed were encouraged to leave something in the box. The process remains unchanged: Anyone can access a LFP box and take what they need, no cost and no questions. People can and do donate, and it’s just as easy. Just leave what you can in a LFP box.

In Clanton, the generosity of church members and others in the community provides the funds Milwee uses to purchase the items for its Little Free Pantry (and two church employees watch it and fill it with the items she brings). And she’s thrifty. “So far, we’ve always had enough, but I’m always looking for deals, always searching for good sources of food,” she says. “When I find a low price on peanut butter, I’ve been known to buy a couple thousand jars at a time.”

Nobody coming to the Little Free Pantry is leaving empty-handed, but the need in the area is great. “Our church has been helping fight hunger even before we put in the LFP,” Milwee says. The congregation’s beans and rice ministry (handing out packages with a bag of rice, bag of beans, maybe some of that prized peanut butter and fresh veggies too) has been feeding the community for years. “But the LFP model is unique and nice because it makes it so easy for someone to grab what they need,” she says.

The desire to expand its response to hunger prompted the former priest at Trinity Episcopal Church to instantly say “yes” when a group from nearby Alabaster asked if it could put a LFP at the church. “It was about five years ago. They constructed it, and we thought they’d be putting food in, but then, that stopped, so we stepped up,” Milwee says.

She’s been at it ever since, moving up and down grocery and market aisles, keeping a keen eye out for specials and price reductions to ensure there’s the right amount of non-perishable food at the church to nourish four to six families a week.

Back in March, the Clanton LFP was able to start purchasing food from The Montgomery Area Food bank, which stretches its dollars a lot farther. “There’s a lot of hunger in Chilton County,” she says, “and I was not really aware of that before our church began our beans and rice program. The LPF has been such a blessing; it gets cleaned out every week, and then we fill it back up.”

Milwee and others at the church don’t often know who gets what or when, and according to her, that’s a positive of the LPF model.

“Because people can access the LPF without interaction, it’s a good way to reach those who may be intimated by the idea of walking into a food bank or hesitant to talk to someone.”

But sometimes, they do learn who they are helping and even establish relationships that allow them to give further aid. “There’s a lady right in the church neighborhood who sometimes uses the LPF, and she has come into the church and talked to the priest,” Milwee says. “She has attended services. So, this opens a door to also allow us to feed more than physical hunger.”

Milwee hopes their LFP and its success encourages other churches, organizations or even individuals to get involved and donate and even put up their own box. “It’s a pretty simple way to fight hunger, and I feel like it has been a big help for those in need in our community,” she says. “It makes me happy to be a part of it.”

If you want to start a LFP in your community or want more info on what to donate to existing LFPs, visit littlefreepantry.org.

Little Effort. Big Impact

Food insecurity affects the physical and mental well-being of people of all ages. Individuals who are food insecure are also more likely to develop and have difficulty managing chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Lita Chatham, assistant director of The Alabama Department of Public Health’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Division, and her colleagues work to fight hunger insecurity and improve access to nutritious food throughout the state. They were excited to learn about LFPs in the Alabama and are hoping to spread awareness of this community-based effort to provide food to those in need. “Whether they are trying to make it to the next paycheck or looking to supplement what they’re able to afford, there are people in every community that just need a little help. Fortunately, those who are willing to lend a helping hand can do so easily by leaving items inside a Little Free Pantry for others to take what they need.,” she said. “We love to see communities working together to support one another, so, we’re happy to help get the word out.”

If you struggle to have enough food for yourself and your family, or struggle to afford nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables, you are not alone and there are resources that may be able to help. Visit littlefreepantry.org to find a LFP near you or visit ADPH’s website at alabamapublichealth.gov/npa for information on additional resources.