“The Little Free Pantry is all about
neighbors helping neighbors, and
Shaker has so many members in the
community that want to help,” says
O’Brien-Hawkin.
The women approached Shaker
City Council Member Tres Roeder
with the idea in late 2017, and things
moved quickly from there. With
Roeder’s support in guiding them
through the necessary approvals,
and with his suggestion to approach
Rev. Roger Osgood at Heights
Christian Church, the process moved
rapidly. In May 2018, the first Little
Free Pantry opened on Winslow
Road at the rear of the church, and
in September 2019 a second location
opened in partnership with Christ
Episcopal Church on Warrensville
Center Road. The locations are
handicap accessible as well as
discreetly situated for the privacy
of recipients.
The response from the Shaker
community has been fantastic; within
a few weeks of being established,
food and toiletry items were moving
out of the pantries very quickly –
nearly all items turn over within a
day or two. Still, donations have
kept pace with what’s needed, even
during the increased demands of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are so fortunate to live in this
community where neighbors look out
for one another,” says Bouthilet. “We
have had so many individuals step
up, whether it be making a donation
to a Little Free Pantry as part of their
weekly grocery routine, offering to
help build the physical structures,
helping their child collect and donate
food, or helping to spread the word by
posting pictures on Facebook.”
56 SUMMER 2020 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
Longtime Shaker resident Armina
Robinson (above) is one of these
dedicated individuals. A nurse by
profession and the mother of three
graduates of Shaker schools, she stops
by the Little Free pantries up to four
times a week to drop donations. She
can’t help it, she says. “When I found
out that people in our neighborhood
are needing food…it just drives
me.” Like others, she’s found that
the pantries are fostering greater
connection, and she often posts on
Facebook to let community members
know when one of the pantries is full or
might “need a little love,” as she says,
from donors. Her heartfelt messages
are filled gratitude for the ongoing
generosity of the community. Every
post receives many comments and
often inspires someone new to join in
the effort.
Take what
you need,
leave what
you can.
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE