Front Yard Food Pantries Become Growing Trend During Coronavirus
DARTMOUTH (CBS) -- There's a new type of food pantry that's sprouting up in front yards. The motto is "take what you need, leave what you can."
One in Dartmouth run by a teenager who just wants to help people struggling during the pandemic. "I was always taught in life to help those around me who are less fortunate," said 16-year-old Abby Medeiros.
Her father built her a decorative box that was inspired by the Little Free Libraries that are springing up in a lot of places. People put out books, free for the taking.
"I decided instead of a free little library to make it a food pantry because of the hard time we're going through right now," Abby said.
She stocks it with canned goods and anyone who needs food is welcome to take it. Sometimes others stop by and add to the supply.
"Basically it's a community that helps out and puts food in there and people take it out who need it," she explained.
Creating mini food pantries is a growing trend. People across the country are converting their Little Free Libraries to hold food and cleaning supplies. Some are even stocking toilet paper. Others are going beyond food. One offers knitting supplies, another is filled with Playdoh and some people are posting jokes on the doors.
The one thing they have in common is the desire to help during a tough time.
"With this whole coronavirus thing going around I figured I wanted to bring it to my community more," Abby said.
This isn't the first time the teen has helped out her community. Abby has also been involved with Thanksgiving food drives.