Community pantries becoming a movement

Jeff Green | Apr 15, 2020

There is more than one virus in the region․ As we all work to keep COVID-19 from spreading (with some success – see - Planking indeed in KFL&A) communities across the region have seen an idea take hold, community pantries.

In mid March, the Matson family in Arden placed a free-standing wooden cupboard by Arden Road, near the location of the C4 grocery store they are in the midst of building. They out a couple of items in it and invited their neighbours and the entire community to stock it with whatever they can spare that might be needed by other neighbours. At the same time, anyone who needs something is invited to take whatever they want. There is not policing, no profit and no worries.

“It runs itself,” said Barbie Matson, a couple of weeks after putting it up.

On March 31st, Dave and Kim Perry of Perry Farms on Yarker Road, right at the Frontenac – Lennox and Addington border, and Local Family Farms in Verona, decided to try it. Dave hauled a three-door silver fridge from the barn to a spot that is set a bit back off or 4545 Yarker Road.

Kim Perry said she would put a pie in the fridge every day.

“I make a lot of pies at my store so what’s one more,” she said. The pantry has received a fair bit of social media coverage and food of all kinds has been flowing through like water.

“Some people have trouble getting to stores these days and others have no money, and others really want to help.”

People have been donating money to Kim to keep the fridge stocked and she has donated some food as well. A load of frozen ground beef was donated by a local beef farmer, bread has arrived, eggs, and more.

“It doesn’t take much work,” Kim said, but she has started keeping notes about what would be good to stock, and using money to purchase cases of tomatoes and other necessities. “Dave is there a lot as well.”

There is also a table at the Local Family Farms store where people can drop off, and pick up food, for the pantry.

And starting this week, the pantry virus is spreading to Battersea. Sharon Freeman of Freedom Farms decided to get one started. She put the word out that she needed a cupboard or a pantry and someone came forward with an ice hut, which is being installed in front of the Battersea United Church this week and by the time this paper hits the streets it will be up and ready to accept and distribute food for people in that region.

“I have no idea where it will go,” said Sharon Freeman, “but we have a great community here so I expect there will be a pretty good response.

Coincidentally she found out, after getting this initiative rolling, that the food bank run by the Battersea United Church is out of supplies, so the pantry could be pretty timely.

Sharon added that she has seen an increase in interest in local food in the weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak. The organic farmers market that Freedom Farm participates in, which is normally held on Sundays at the Memorial Centre in Kingston, but is now being run online, has been busier than ever.

“We also sell our produce through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA),” she said, “and everyone we know who runs a CSA farm says they are either sold out or close to sold out for the year already. People are looking to their own communities these days. They are concerned about the food supply, and they want to eat healthy food.”

CSA’s typically operate by charging a price for a weekly or bi-weekly box of vegetables in season, often paid in advance, making the typical cash flow concerns of market gardeners less of a problem.