A new food pantry has opened its tiny doors in Marion County.
The Marion County Little Food Pantry is located in Mannington, outside CROSS Soup Kitchen, and was established recently by the Marion County Family Resource Network.
Leslie Donaldson, youth services coordinator for the network, said she got the idea for the Little Food Pantry online, as she saw the project was successful in other parts of the country.
The Little Food Pantry is similar in size and concept to a Little Free Library. It is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is hoped to be stocked by community members, though Donaldson said the Mannington Food Pantry will also help in supplying food.
“People driving by, if they pick up an extra nonperishable food item or items, they can drop it off anytime,” Donaldson said.
The material for the pantry was donated by 84 Lumber, and Donaldson said a man from Stepping Stone built the pantry box.
Donaldson said she had originally wanted to locate the box downtown, but when that didn’t happen, she said Colleen Morris from the Mannington Food Pantry said they wanted the first box near them.
The box has been up and running for about a week. Donaldson said it will have a sign that reads: “Take what you need; give back what you can.”
“Anybody can access it; anyone can stock it,” she said. “We just ask that it be nonperishable food.”
Donaldson added that she is talking with a local Girl Scout troop leader, who is interested in having the troop use the Little Food Pantries as a community service project.
The group would make and establish more of these Little Food Pantries throughout the county, Donaldson said, but mainly near schools and other high-traffic areas.
For now, the Mannington location is leading the way for Little Food Pantries in the county.
“If you can help with the Little Food Pantry, it’s something small that you can do. It would really help people when they find themselves in a time of need,” Donaldson said.
The Marion County Family Resource Network does a lot of community outreach in working to achieve its slogan: “Keeping children safe and families healthy.”
