The message is simple: take what you need, give what you can.
A South Vancouver community collective is giving back to its local community.
A fully-stocked little free pantry, created by the Marpole Mutual Aid Network, is now located at the northwest corner of Marpole Park.
The super small storeroom offers items such as non-perishable foods, diapers, and menstrual supplies. Residents and visitors are asked not to police or shame others who use the service.
"Anyone can access, no questions asked, no surveillance. You take what you need and maybe sometimes you need a lot of things and sometimes you just need one thing," says the network's Amal Ishaque.
Many contributions are welcome as long as they're not perishable or expired and they must be able to fit inside the pantry.
The project is a culmination of a year's worth of work in establishing mutual aid efforts in the Marpole neighbourhood.
As poverty and food insecurity continues to be an issue during the pandemic, little pantries and other grassroots community initiatives have recently become popular across North America.
"We did it hoping to give something back to the community; but truthfully, it's been the other way. It's restored my faith in humanity in a very big way," explains the pantry's builder Erv Newcombe.
