GULFPORT, Fla. — Margarete Tober realized too many people were going hungry in the tight-knit town she loves. That is when she decided to help feed them in a very unique way.
Tober and her volunteer friends in the Gulfport Neighbors group help build Little Free Pantries. The small brown boxes provide free food for those in need.
The motto? “Take what you need, give what you can.”
Neighbors can leave non-perishable food. Or they can take some.
The boxes are always being filled. And yet, they are always empty, too.
“They’re hard to keep stocked,” Tober says. “Not because people don’t want to stock them. But because they’re always being used. A lot of people are very proud and they just don’t let you know.”
The Little Free Pantry movement started in Arkansas a couple years ago.
Gulfport is trying to address the growing problem of food insecurity by placing three Little Free Pantries around town.
There are now plans to install a fourth.
The locations of the Little Free Pantries in Gulfport are:
Gulfport Fire Station
5314 23rd Ave. S.
Gulfport Public Library
5501 28th Ave. S.
Gulfport Presbyterian Church
5313 - 27th Ave. S.
For more information on the Little Free Pantry, visit www.littlefreepantry.org.
