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A small white box, the size of a kitchen cabinet, with a glbad door sits at the top of a pole in Melissa Rafael's courtyard in Toronto. Sometimes people stop to fill up on food and sometimes visitors leave with boxes, cans or toiletries tucked away in a bag or under their arms.
Rafael erected his small free pantry about two years ago as part of a growing movement to help neighbors struggling with food insecurity. Many such pantries have already appeared in Canada and, while providing relief to those who can not afford a meal, some believe it is not the most effective in feeding those who are hungry.
"I wanted something simple that you could access at any time," said Rafael, who needs to fill his pantry more often, depending on the time of year, sometimes even once a day . She buys herself toiletries and toiletries and makes calls to neighborhood social media groups to solicit donations from others.
The inability to afford food is a problem for many people living in Canada.
People visited Canadian food banks nearly 1.1 million times in March 2018, according to the latest hunger count prepared by Food Banks Canada. Food banks served nearly 5.7 million meals and snacks this month.
Chris Hatch, CEO of the charity, said that these numbers have remained relatively stable over the years.
"The end result does not improve," he said.
Part of the blame rests on the cost of food. According to an annual report, the researchers estimated that food prices would rise by 1.5-3.5% this year, with vegetables surpbading all other categories with an anticipated jump of 4-6%. According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, prices for food purchased in stores increased by 4% between May 2018 and 2011, with a 16.7% increase in the cost of fresh vegetables.
Jessica McClard launched the Little Free Pantry project with a pilot pantry in May 2016 in Arkansas, outside her church, to address food insecurity in her region, where she said her needs were hidden.
The free small library project has inspired it. The nonprofit organization began in 2009 with a miniature replica of a one-room school storing takeaway books for free. The concept of "take a book, leave a book" has since reached 80,000 small libraries in 91 countries, including Canada, according to its website.
She felt that this could be a good model to eliminate some of the shame that people who need help feel.
"Everyone approaches the project in the same way, whether it is bringing food or removing it. So nobody knows where you are, "she said.
McClard filled the pantry with diapers, cereals, peanut butter, feminine hygiene products and other toiletries and food items. She took a picture, shared it on social media and saw the interest grow.
There are currently more than 650 such pantries in several countries, many in Canada, according to a map on the project website. But that only includes pantries where the steward has added his pantry online, and McClard thinks there are many others that she does not know about.
Most of Rafael's neighbors and pbaders-by responded positively, she said, and she even received thanks from people who had relied on her larder in the past.
One or two opponents have expressed concern about the possibility that a pantry is attracting malicious people to the area, she said, but nothing serious has ever happened.
But not all the experiences have been so positive. The Harmony Church in Brantford, Ontario closed its pantry after about a year and a half, Ruth Bond said in an email.
Vandalism played a role in this decision, Bond added, adding that the door was torn twice.
But the congregation could not cope with the demand either and felt that it could not control the fair distribution of donations, she said. A woman would come every night to refuel for the contents of the pantry. The congregation is now sending their food donations to the local food bank.
At least one Canadian food bank in Mississauga, Ontario, has set up a small pantry to help people access food during off-hours, Hatch said.
"Having another source of food for those in need of emergency food does not hurt," he said.
But these types of pantries are still relatively rare, he added, adding that he only knew that of Mississauga, a city of more than 700,000 inhabitants, according to the 2016 census.
Food banks also offer other benefits that these larders can not offer. Customers receive fresh food and dairy products, he said, rather than just non-perishable food. Food banks also put people in touch with other social services.
"I think it will not give them the quality of the food, the frequency of the food they usually need, that you take out of a full-service food bank."
Aleksandra Sagan, Canadian Press
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