In the season of giving, someone took – and not in the way it is meant.
Teri Youngdale started a free food pantry in her McKinney front yard in September.
It is a little wooden box filled with food, snacks and toiletries. The idea is to take what you need and leave what you can.
On the quiet residential street, the pantry constantly stays busy.
"Most people do come in the middle of the night because they want some privacy," Youngdale said.
That's why she restocks the pantry several times throughout the night.
Monday, she came out to find the door ajar, food thrown all over the street.
She cleaned up and restocked like she always does.
Hours later, she came back to fill it with more food and found the door shattered, shards of glass covering the food inside.
"Someone tossed a can through the glass," Youngdale said. "Maybe something they wanted or needed wasn't in there and it made them angry, or maybe their stomach hurt because they were hungry, I just don't know."
But when someone does a good thing, good things seem to follow. Within hours of posting photos of the vandalism on Facebook, Youngdale saw an outpouring of support.
She received more than 2,000 calls and messages in 24 hours.
One of those was from Brennan Donoho, of Alpha and Omega Remodeling.
A friend had tagged him in the post, asking if he could help rebuild.
Donoho jumped at the chance to give back, spending hours on Wednesday fixing the pantry, with shatter-proof Plexiglas this time.
Lowe's even donated all of the supplies.
"It's sad that it takes something negative like that to bring that many people for something this small. Small, but it means a lot," Donoho said.
The small little box is now filled with much more than just food.
If you'd like to give or take food, the Red Door Pantry is at 1503 West Hunt Street in McKinney.
