Three weeks ago, Jennifer and Scott DeCoste converted the community library they had set up in front of their Portland Street home in Dartmouth to a community pantry to address food insecurity in their region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Little did they know, the bright red birdhouse-like pantry would become highly frequented and that the issue of food insecurity was far more pressing than they initially thought.
“We were just really surprised actually how active the pantry was. There’s a bus that stops right at our driveway, so there are a lot of people that are coming and going out of that space,” said Jennifer DeCoste.
“We’re filling it two, three times a day and finding that we could keep it more active than that.”
As founders of Life.School.House, a barter exchange group in the Halifax Regional Municipality with the motto “Take what you need, leave what you can,” the two established the pantry to rally support to help out those who are financially struggling due to the implications of COVID-19.
Since its inception, the pantry has seen its fair share of contributors, according to DeCoste. She said people are dropping off various items on their front porch to assist with the effort including non-perishable food, fresh fruits and vegetables, hygiene products and pet food.
They’ve also been receiving bundles of masks from a group called The Masked Stitchers.
“It’s not always the people that have a lot that contribute to these kinds of things, it’s a little bit that comes from a lot of people that makes this kind of initiative work,” said DeCoste, adding they are always seeking more contributions.
Though there “doesn’t seem to be any predictability” with the items the pantry features on a daily basis, DeCoste said nothing gets left behind.
“The items that are expensive to access but necessary for life are going very quickly out of the pantry,” she said.
“I couldn’t guess numbers (of visitors), but I do know that it’s really become a resource that’s actively used in the community.”
When asked how long they plan to keep up the community pantry, DeCoste said she doesn’t think there will be “an end” anytime soon.
“We had originally opened it like a little library because the bus stops there, providing access for a lot of people to grab reading materials, but as long as there is a need for this kind of service in the community, there really isn’t a need to stop doing it. And as long as the community continues to support it, with donations and contributions of different kinds, then we’ll keep it open.”
The Ummah Masjid and Community Centre in Halifax has set up a community pantry to help out those in need during the pandemic and the month of Ramadan as well.
The mosque's pantry is similarly stocked with an assortment of food items and other essentials, and is visited by "lots of people" everyday, according to Imam Abdallah Yousri with the Ummah Masjid and Community Centre.
“It is a very open and friendly environment for those in need to stop by and take whatever they need. There’s no embarrassment, there’s no registration, there’s no questions and even no one is there to ask you what you need, just you help yourself,” he said.
“Take whatever you want and give whatever you want as well.”
Yousri said the mosque is considering running the community food bank even after the pandemic and Ramadan.
“We will see what we can do to keep this as a permanent project,” he said.
The mosque is also offering free “Iftar” meals, or meals with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset, to individuals and families who are in need, and will soon introduce a delivery service that provides packaged foods directly to the homes of "the most vulnerable in our communities." Community members can visit the mosque’s Facebook page for more details.
"We want to provide the community with whatever they need, meanwhile avoid any embarrassment for any of those in need," said Yousri.
Noushin Ziafati is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
