Grab a book and a snack!
A group in Bloomington is making sure the community has food to nourish their bellies and book to nourish their brains..
Little free pantry in Bloomington’s West Side, started in 2016 after students recognized food insecurity in their area.
Fifty student volunteers from as young as seven years old, all the way up to twenty, re-purposed old newspaper boxes into pantries. Inside them, are canned goods for anyone in the area to access.
But now the program is expanding to books. The students realized they also needed to cater to a wider range of needs – helping folks gain life skills.
“We hope that the community can get something out of it…to kind of give them a stepping stone. We can only help them with food so much, but if they can get an education themselves and progress, that is very inspiring and that’s what we hope for them.” said Raja More, one of the founders of Little Free Pantry.
The philosophy behind the effort? “Take what you need. Leave what you can.” It goes for both food and books.
LFP invites the public to drop off books about careers, cooking, technology and anything else related to life skills, in addition to helping stock their mini food pantries with canned goods.
For more information, visit their facebook page
