Mini food pantries popping up in North Jersey. Here's how you can help
Mini food pantries, driven by grassroots efforts, have been popping up all over the country, including in Clifton.
Clifton resident Donna Popowich told the city's elected leaders on Tuesday night that she and two friends, Nicole Kropinack and Barbara James, plan to open three of the mini pantries.
Inspired by two other small pantries set up by other volunteers, one on Viola Avenue and another in front of Living Hope Presbyterian Church on Maplewood Avenue, the three women began to brainstorm about how to open three of the mini pantries on Clifton property.
Not all the mini food pantries are part of the same grassroots effort. Some are called Little Food Pantries, others Little Free Pantries. The Little Free Pantry has a website with a list of pantry locations.
The mini food pantries are believed to have first appeared in May 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when Jessica McClard placed a wooden box on a post and filled it with food and personal care and paper items for anyone to take, no questions asked.
It was copied from the Little Free Library concept and created a place where neighbors could help food-insecure neighbors. Instead of taking or leaving a book, people would take or leave food or essential items like toiletries
The Clifton mini pantries
The Clifton trio enlisted the help of city Health Officer John Biegel, Popowich said. They created two pantries the size of a small bookshelf or a box container and found three city locations for them. One will be at the city's senior center barn and the other at Jubilee Park.
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A third pantry, Popowich said, which will hold pet food and pet products, will be at the city's animal shelter. The volunteers said they hope to have the sites up and functioning in the next few weeks.
The pantries are being constructed by local Scout Troop 23 from St. Andrew the Apostle Roman Catholic Church.
The plan is to keep them stocked through commitments from local groups. The small pantries do not hold many items, but the creators hope people and local organizations will embrace the concept by making periodic donations.
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The Clifton Board of Education has pledged to stock the pantries during August, Popowich said. The City Council is expected to take a pantry for another month, she said.
Another way to help
Hunger is a complex and sometimes nuanced issue, with more than 700,000 food-insecure residents in New Jersey, said Leeja Carter, the CEO of the Coalition for Food and Health Equity, a nonprofit organization.
Little food pantries may not be the perfect solution to the problem, but they are a useful tool, Carter said.
For a list and a map of the Little Free Pantry sites, visit LittleFreePantry.org. New mini food pantry locations may be added to the list.
Popowich said helping does not require a big commitment, just the time to stock the mini pantry with goods.
Any individual or group interested in pledging to stock a pantry for a month, or looking for more information, can email Popowich at 57BDFC@gmail.com.
Clifton is also home to St. Peter's Haven, which runs a traditional food pantry. It and other pantries need donations. For more information, visit SaintPetersHaven.org.
Help for the food insecure is also available through the Community Food Bank of New Jersey at https://cfbnj.org/.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mini food pantries popping up in North Jersey. How to help
