Gulfport’s Little Free Pantries are part of what makes Gulfport a city to love, Joe Opaleski writes.
Cathy Salustri
Remember the bread baking trend from the COVID-19 lockdowns? For a few months, everyone wanted to learn how to bake their own loaves, from simple artisan white breads to elaborate ciabattas. My partner and I took that trend seriously. Well, mostly my partner.
As a premier cake chef and hobby baker, she keeps our pantry stuffed with the best carbohydrates anyone could ever want. Often, we have so much gluten around that I can’t keep up with it. That’s why I’m grateful to have Gulfport’s Little Free Pantries, where I can easily donate our fresh food and nonperishables to those in need.
These boxes were provided by a group of local neighbors, but were originally thought of by Jessica McClard in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It’s not an organization or a nonprofit, just an idea and title free to be replicated by individual communities.
You’ve probably seen these free pantries by the library, fire station, and Presbyterian church. They look like book boxes but are frequently filled with non-perishable foods or surrounded with boxes of produce. These sites allow residents to donate fresh or nonperishable food without leaving City limits, and give beneficiaries the agency to choose what foods they want.
Many bakeries do not give their fresh leftovers to food banks because of strict donation criteria or potential liability. At Gulfport’s free pantries, there are generally garbage bins in close range to dispose of any bad food. As long as no one adds food that can quickly spoil and make a mess of the other donations, food quality is left to the discretion of the person collecting it. It’s a simple system that gives people plenty of options, which is especially important as the price of basic goods continues to skyrocket.
Inflation rates in the Tampa Bay area have consistently hovered above the national average, and lower-earning residents are disproportionately suffering from price hikes in everyday purchases like groceries and gas. Donating to a free pantry is a simple form of mutual aid that directly benefits your neighbors and brings the community together, both in cause and spirit.
While it isn’t enough to prevent widespread food insecurity, seeing these boxes filled with donations signals that our community cares about one another. I’m grateful these sites have become a defining trait of our city.
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