RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - A little box in north Rapid City has helped feed hungry families over the last two years, but today it needs a little T.L.C from the community.
The Little Free Pantry stands tall in a quiet neighborhood in north Rapid City.
Co-founder Thomas Reasor says every day, dozens of families take free food from the pantry, but it's starting to look a little shabby.
The paint is chipping and the backboard is starting to come off.
Thomas Reasor says, "We need a new pantry. The pantry is falling apart. It's in disarray right now."
He's hoping a handy person would be willing to volunteer and replace it, but in the meantime it's sufficient.
When Thomas and his wife first started Little Free Pantry two years ago, donations were coming in hot and heavy, but donations have slowed down quite a bit, and now the demand is much larger than the supply.
Katrina Lim says, "Tom says a food source like this is very much needed in Rapid, but for every one person who donates ((NATS, cans scraping)), there's about 20 families who come and collect food."
According to Feeding South Dakota, one out of every eight people in the state is food insecure.
Thomas Reasor says, "Oh, it's heartbreaking. I mean I'm in the same position. We struggle paycheck to paycheck just like most everybody. For me, it's heartbreaking to know that there's people that have the opportunity to get it, but it's just not there."
Tom says it's not just he and his wife that make the Little Free Pantry happen.
It's a community effort.
Thomas Reasor says, "This is nothing that we do. This is all community. The community does this. It's not something that we take out of our private stock. There are times when we have to do things like that, but for the most part, the community runs it. It's not anything that we're going above and beyond doing. It's just a lighthouse basically. We just house it."
If you'd like to donate some non-perishable food items, drop them off at the Little Free Pantry at 1729 Brentwood Street in Rapid City.
If you have an idea for next week's Be the Change, send an email to katrinal@blackhillsfox.com.
