Little Food Pantry seeing frequent use

Photo submitted Genna Crafton stocked the shelves of the little pantry. The shelves are emptied and filled multiple times a day.
Photo submitted Genna Crafton stocked the shelves of the little pantry. The shelves are emptied and filled multiple times a day.

A Little Free Food Pantry is helping the community to come together to address food insecurity in Siloam Springs.

The pantry was installed next to The Garden in Siloam Springs about a month ago, according to Kate Crafton, who organized the project with her family and Grace Episcopal Church. It includes compartments for bread, dry goods, drinks, canned goods, baby items and a separate area for soap and personal care items. People can take what they need or drop off a donation 24 hours a day.

The Crafton family got the idea for the project from the the Little Free Pantry project in Fayetteville. The original Little Free Pantry was piloted in May and currently has more than 18,000 Facebook likes. The person who started the pantry, Jessica McClard, encouraged people to take the name and the idea and run with it, Crafton said. Now pantries have sprung up in states like Ohio, Texas and South Dakota, according to The Little Free Pantry website, www.littlefreepantry.org.

The Crafton family first planned to install the pantry in their front yard, next to a small community library they started. However, Grace Episcopal Church decided they would like to use the pantry as an outreach. The project is a perfect fit with The Garden in Siloam Springs, which is located behind the church and is also focused on addressing food insecurity. Since the pantry is next to the garden, people can grab fresh vegetables and herbs, as well as staples like oil and spices to make a complete meal, Crafton said.

Crafton has been surprised at how much the pantry is used. She checks the pantry twice a day, as does garden director Patty Arnett. Baby food and diapers go especially quickly, she said.

Crafton loves to see people posting pictures of kids filling up the pantry, and said many people have made homemade soaps or scarves for the pantry. Crafton said that she and Arnett have seen people of all ages use the pantry.

"It's cool to see how often it gets used," she said.

One of Crafton's friends checked the pantry to see what items were needed, then went to the store to purchase them. When she came back an hour later, she found that more items had been taken out and more items had been added.

"(We've) really enjoyed it as a community-building activity," she said.

Although the pantry only stocks small quantities of items, it has the advantage of being open all hours of the day in case of emergencies. It is also anonymous, so people don't have to ask for help.

Crafton said she can understand how difficult it is for parents to feed their family. Every parent wants to provide good food for their children, she said.

In the future, Crafton and Arnett hope to install hooks on the outside of the pantry for donated coats. The coats could be taken inside during bad weather. They would also like to see churches across town install more Little Free Pantries so they would be accessible to more people.

"It would be a great community outreach program and an opportunity to love on people they don't even know," Crafton said.

Those who would like to donate to the pantry can drop food off directly, or leave items with Crafton or at Grace Episcopal Church.

TC Screen Printing is hosting a food drive for the Little Free Pantry through Dec. 16. For every food item dropped off at TC Screen Printing, the donor will be entered for a chance to win a Kitchen Aid Mixer.

For more information about The Little Free Pantry in Siloam Springs, visit the organization's Facebook page Little Free Pantry - Siloam Springs. For more information about the movement, visit www.littlefreepantry.org.

General News on 12/04/2016