queeranarchism:scottishwobbly:The Little Free Pantry ProjectThe Little Free Pantry utilizes a famili
queeranarchism:scottishwobbly:The Little Free Pantry ProjectThe Little Free Pantry utilizes a familiar, compelling concept to pique local interest in and action against local food insecurity. The Little Free Pantry offers a place around which neighbors might coalesce to meet neighborhood needs, whether for food or for fun.The single Little Free Pantry is “little.” Lots of Little Free Pantries might be big. Duplicate freely. http://www.littlefreepantry.orgLittle Free Pantry Plans Here’s my top 6 list for making these things are actually useful and not just a hipster project:Drop the ‘take what you need, give what you can’ bullshit. Poverty is stigmatized. We’ve all been taught to be ashamed of needing things. If you care about mutual aid, emphasize sharing in which giving and taking are acts of similar worth. Make sure your pantry is DRY. And I don’t just mean that no rain can get in, I mean it doesn’t get damp and moldy in winter either. If you can place your pantry inside a community center, definitely do so. Much much better than out on the street. That goes for book sharing boxes too. Moldy books are a health hazard. If you can plug in a fridge, GREAT. That’s some high quality storage. Make sure someone is willing to do regular inspections to clean the pantry and throw out the moldy and off-looking things. Desperate people will eat anything, make sure nothing in the pantry can make people sick. Be wary of gentrification. Is your cutesy woodwork aesthetic pantry really what people need? Wouldn’t a big old cupboard be far more effective? Have you placed the pantry in an easy accessible place where people who need it actually go? -- source link