So in addition to sweets of all kinds, Chandler and her family handed out food to those who needed it. She was surprised at how much she distributed — 24 packs of ramen noodles, five boxes of macaroni and cheese, 15 cans of vegetables, beans and soup, three boxes of plain pasta, and 10 packages of instant oatmeal.
The need she saw that night sparked an idea for The Little Free Pantry, a place where people in her neighborhood can get non-perishable items at no cost. “We decided it would be a good homeschool project to make something more permanent to help our community,” Chandler said.
The Chandler family has long been involved in efforts to assist others. They sponsor a family at Christmas, serve Thanksgiving meals at a shelter, and often pay for food for veterans. Pam Chandler also writes a column about motherhood in this newspaper and the popular blog The Chandler Crew, about their family’s adventures.
Her husband, Walter, and daughter, Jasmine, built the small pantry, and Pam Chandler then used her network to help fill it.
“Even with the government up and running, it’s still hard on everyone in our neighborhood in this economy. I kept seeing people on various local pages saying food banks were hard to reach without transportation, so I wanted something for (people) to be able to walk to.”
Chandler said that she’s already received a note from a mom who used the pantry to feed her children for a night. “That’s what matters to me,” she said.
Chandler wondered whether donations would continue, and she worried about her ability to keep the project going. Her husband had his hours at Honda reduced, which made finances tighter and harder to purchase goods. She’s soon having surgery, which means she won’t be as active soliciting donations.
“I knew it would be a Field of Dreams situation — if we built it, they would come, donations that is. And they did. A ton of them,” Chandler said. “We had so many donations, we had to put a second plastic tote at the base for overflow.”
This project “Has restored my faith in humanity. I’ve found often those who have the least give the most.”
Here’s the thing. Among all the talk of division and partisanship, strong neighborhoods stand together. Chandler’s efforts and her community’s support serve as an example of how small things make life better. The pantry holds 50 canned goods, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is when a couple of items are the difference between a meal and going to bed hungry.
Food pantries and free community dinners serve a vital purpose, given that more than 15% of residents in Montgomery County, including more than one in five children, live in poverty. But efforts like this one help fill gaps by making food easily accessible.
The pantry also fosters a “pay it forward” mentality. Take what you need now, and when you can, put a few cans back and help others.
Most importantly, it strengthens community bonds. Everyone’s in this together, and no one looks down on someone who takes a can of soup.
Chandler plans to keep the pantry open as long as people need it, which likely means a long time. And there appears to be no shortage of support as people stop by daily to contribute.
“When things in our world/country seem dismal, I’m a firm believer in finding a way to just make my own corner of the world better, and that’s exactly what we did here. So really, it was just a selfish plan to make me feel hopeful again.”
Everyone should be so selfish.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday.
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