SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) - Shailee Shah has found a calling – to help alleviate food insecurity and waste at the neighborhood level.
Shah recently completed her second Little Free Pantry, a grassroots, crowdsourced solution to address food insecurity, on the Greater Somerset County YMCA campus in Somerville.
The 15-year-old Hillsborough High School sophomore established her first Little Free Pantry three years ago at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Edison, when she was a seventh-grader there.
Using the ideology of neighbors helping neighbors, a Little Free Pantry is a permanent structure of goods that are always accessible. People can come by and stock the box with any nonperishables, toiletries and even toys. In turn, anyone can come by at any time and take what they need from the box.
Shah first heard about the Little Free Pantry concept when her seventh-grade history teacher talked about it in class. Thinking it was a “nice community project,” Shah didn’t first connect it to her own community. With her eyes opened, she began to realize there was a true need all around her – in her own school there were students who did not get enough to eat on a regular basis.
“There were kids who didn’t have proper access to meals at home,” said Shah, who moved to Hillsborough two years ago. “They would be really tired and exhausted. Because of that they wouldn’t be able to focus at school and get lower grades than everyone else. There were also full untouched lunches and apples from breakfast that would be thrown out. So, I combined these two issues – hunger and food waste.”
Shah realized her solution “was right in front of me all along.” It was the Little Free Pantry.
“It’s a place to minimize hunger and waste of good food,” she said.
Shah approached her school principal and told her about the Little Free Pantry concept. While the idea was welcomed, it was an unknown, so it took a while for the concept to become a reality.
“It did take some convincing, but they were pretty interested,” Shah said. “They approved the idea.”
After fundraising about $900, Shah contracted a carpenter to build the actual pantry. The Thomas Jefferson model still stands at the school today, offering those in need food and other items. The newest Little Free Pantry in Somerville was dedicated on Jan. 1.
Shah, who is a member of the Greater Somerset County YMCA, chose the borough to “plant” her second Little Free Pantry because she viewed it as a neighborhood that has “high-, middle- and lower-class” people who live together.
“And the Y is the place that all three of these groups combine,” she said. “This was a place where people can give and take. We have people for both. There are also schools nearby, so people can come to the pantry after school.”
As the Somerville YMCA already had a Little Free Library at the borough campus, Shah said it did not take much to convince the leadership that a Little Free Pantry would be a plus.
“The concept is similar,” Shah said. “They were actually pretty thrilled with the idea. I talked with the director, Kate Russo. She is an amazing person and she guided me throughout this entire process.”
“We’re so happy to announce our new Little Free Pantry is open on the grounds of Somerville YMCA,” said Russo, executive director of both the Bridgewater and Somerville YMCA branches. “We want to give a special thank you to Y supporter (Shailee Shah) for this wonderful project that will help those in the community who are in need. We welcome everyone to stop by any time to take what they need or leave items to help keep it stocked.”
The whole process for the borough’s Little Free Pantry took about six months. After Shah got the project’s approval, she fundraised about $700 for the building and painting of the small edifice.
Though new, the Somerville YMCA Little Free Pantry is filling up. In the stocked Little Free Pantry were boxes of macaroni and cheese boxes, green beans, soup, toiletries, sauces, apples, clementines, bibs, tea, marshmallows, formula, gravy, stuffing, tuna, pasta, crackers, cereal, women’s hygiene items, baby toys, oatmeal and pop tarts. In the second week of January, Danielle Mann of Somerville dropped off some infant formula that her daughter cannot use.
“I love this,” said Mann. “It’s great. I have two under two and I know what it is like. Formula is expensive. It is good to give away what we can’t use.”
Shah is looking for more communities across the country who are interested in building their own Little Free Pantry. She can either help them do their own or do it for them.
“I want to do hundreds more in the future,” Shah said. “I also want to inspire others to do the same. It feels pretty awesome to do this. It makes me feel like I belong in my community. Not only can I take help from others, but I know that I repay by doing my part in society. I just want everyone to be equal and have the same advantages.”
“Anyone can do this,” Shah said. “As a seventh-grader when I created my first pantry I asked myself the question, ’Would I actually be able to do this?’ But, I did it and with adequate research and passion, anyone can create a Little Free Pantry.”
“I’m proud of her,” Neha Shah said. “I’m really proud of her. She has this amazing quality and cares for people and her community and that’s what we want to see in our daughter.”
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