Building Community Through Free Pantries

In Portland, Australia, hunger became a growing concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, United Way Glenelg repurposed its free little libraries – providing food instead of books. Libraries became pantries, so anyone in need could access free food 24/7, discreetly and without judgement. Volunteers build and stock the pantries located around the community.  

One of those volunteers is Cameron, a 16-year-old student at Portland Bay Special School, a United Way partner. Each Monday morning, Cameron and his mentor, Sue, collect donated bread from a local bakery and pack food boxes at a community garden storage space. The boxes contain essentials like cereal, Vegemite, and tinned food. Cameron helps load supplies, then delivers them to nine free pantry locations, including an Aboriginal medical center, a kindergarten, a primary school, and a hospital. By Monday night, the pantries are empty.

Sue, who organizes work experience placements for students, notes how reliable Cameron is: “He knows what he has to do and is always ready to go.” Though Cameron is shy and nonverbal, he shows his engagement through his work: carefully stocking the pantries and making sure they are filled for anyone who is hungry. One community member says that even now, the pantries still continue to meet an important need:  

We are struggling lately; some days my husband and I don’t eat tea so that our kids do. The pantry has helped us get through some hard days.”

The program continues to expand with support from another volunteer group, the Heywood Men’s Shed. Despite the name, the group includes 15 men and 13 women, all over 40 and unemployed. Based at a hospital, they typically refurbish furniture, but after United Way Glenelg approved their first pantry design, they began building more. “They are all over our area,” says Sandra, the group’s secretary. “We’ve got little libraries and pantries everywhere.”

United Way Glenelg identified a need and mobilized the community to meet it. As Executive Officer Nicole Carr puts it, the demand for these pantries shows just how essential they are.