AUSTIN, Texas – You may have heard of “Free Little Libraries” before. They’re small boxes typically placed in residential neighborhoods where neighbors can donate and pick up free books, but one Texas neighborhood is converting theirs into a pantry to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Converted “Free Little Library” into a pantry
- Neighbors started leaving pantry items as well
- Hopes to teach her son lessons in kindness
Laura Duncan said the idea came to her as she started hearing stories about people struggling to find toilet paper and other basic food items at grocery stores. Why not fill the small library outside their home with products like these to help neighbors in need?
Duncan thought this act of kindness was an important lesson for her son Sawyer, who has been paying attention to the pandemic and how people are responding to it.
“It also shows my son that there are people out there who are willing to help others and then it doesn’t have to be a scary situation,” said Duncan, “I just want him to know there are people out there who are willing to help.”
Last month, the two started putting food inside the wooden box sitting on a pole outside their home.
“I think we started with a roll of toilet paper, a few bars of soap and some cereal boxes,” Duncan said.
She posted about it on social media and a small movement started in her neighborhood.
“And before we knew it, people were donating items and taking items and it was just an incredible feeling to see our neighborhood come together and help each other,” Duncan said.
Since then, Duncan stocks the repurposed library every day and some neighbors are taking what they need while others continue to add to it.
While she loves the lesson in kindness her son is receiving, she also gives credit for the idea to her family.
“My grandfather used to help out his neighbors in this way long before anything like this happened, and I just took what our mother taught us, you know, you give what you can.” Duncan said.
As the small gesture in her little library continues to grow, it’s giving her faith in mankind during these tough times.