The Grande Prairie Public Library is lending a helping hand to those in need with the Little Free Pantry and hopes to raise $2,000 during Giving Tuesday, which will help fund the Pantry for close to two months.
Director Deb Cryderman says that it started out as just an idea and slowly but surely everything started to come together.
“The idea came to us over the summer. We see a lot of people here who are vulnerable and face food insecurity in their lives. Tara Wiebe, Head of Customer Services, brought up the idea of a Little Free Pantry and I said if she can make that happen, go right ahead. It wasn’t in our budget,” she says.
“She made it happen and we received a few donations from local organizations. We have a bin set up where you can drop off your non-perishable food items and toiletries or you can drop them off with our people at the front desk.”
“Ever since we started the initiative, the community has supported it really well. We also promoted the Little Free Pantry with TikTok posts, and people across the country have been sending us donations to support it, which has been wonderful,” she adds.
Cryderman says the library received a $300 donation from Montreal just because they wanted to help out their fellow Canadians. She adds that they don’t intend to replace the food bank or any other available services and that they just want to provide enough to make sure residents can get through the day.
Donations can be made online through Canada Helps or in person at the GPPL Customer Service Desk. The Little Free Pantry is an ongoing initiative. Giving Tuesday is a worldwide philanthropy day that follows Black Friday.