Bob Doolittle approached the Wenatchee Arts, Recreation and Parks Commission meeting July 16 to pitch the idea of producing Little Free Pantries around the Wenatchee area. The Little Free Pantry would be scattered in Wenatchee and stationed in different neighborhoods, filled with preservable food.
“It’s not intended to replace anything or be a safe-all,” said Doolittle. “It’s a security blanket for people.”
Doolittle stated that the Little Free Pantry is an option directed toward the surrounding neighbors to use when their fridge is empty, times are tough and pay day isn’t until the end of the week. It would be a community driven effort with contributions and eventually be turned over for the neighborhood to operate and stock.
“It’s totally anonymous, you can go in 24/7. If you need something, it’s there. The idea of being within a neighborhood, within a community, people would eventually take ownership of this thing and keep providing for their own neighbors,” said Doolittle.
And while he has the idea rooted down, Doolittle is unsure where to plant the little pantries and looking for a non-profit to help him establish the concept.
“It should be in a location that it’s going to be frequented by community,” said Doolittle. “I would like to find a non-profit that I could work under their umbrella or they be supportive of the whole thing too.”
Doolittle emphasized Little Free Pantry wouldn’t be a duplication of the food service organizations that provide multiple meals to the hungry nor is it a system that is particularly focused on the homeless. Rather, it’s an option for the neighbors in between paychecks that aren’t sure where dinner is going to come from Thursday night when payday is Friday morning.
“It’s about food insecurity, it’s not about providing every meal. We have lots of programs for things like that. But what happens if you have a job, you’re working, you get down to the eleventh hour and not going to get paid for two days and your pantry is absolutely empty? Where do you turn? What do you do? Well you could go to the Little Pantry and pick up something if you’re really hungry and you need to have it,” said Doolittle. “This is a place just to make sure, just a fall back.”
The committee seemed receptive to Doolittle’s pitch and offered him different non-profit organizations to seek out for assistance. The possibility of placing a Little Free Pantry in the parks surfaced, but there would need to be several steps before anything is formally nailed down.
