A 14-year-old from Westhampton has built a new Little Free Food Pantry for the Westhampton Free Library, offering nonperishable items that anyone facing food insecurity can anonymously access.
Community members are also welcome to leave food items at the pantry which is adjacent to the library parking lot.
Pictured Above: Ari Schneider with the Little Free Pantry he built and donated to the library. |. Photo courtesy of the Westhampton Free Library
The pantry was designed and built by 14-year-old Ari Schneider, a Westhampton resident and substitute library page. He constructed the Little Free Food Pantry as a service project for his bar mitzvah to help the community surrounding his synagogue. When his original location proved untenable, he decided to donate the pantry to the Westhampton Free Library.
“The Hamptons has a reputation of being a place of great wealth, but being a full-time resident here, I see that there are many people in my community who don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” said Mr. Schneider. “I hope that this Little Free Food Pantry serves as a community resource to allow people to leave food for their neighbors who might need it.”
Schneider is a member of Westhampton Beach High School’s Key Club and also works with his fellow students to organize food drives.
“With the Little Free Food Pantry, no one has to feel embarrassed about needing some extra help,” he said. “Come by the library 24 hours a day to take what you need. Perhaps in the future if you have some extra, you can leave food for the next person. We can all work together to make Westhampton hunger-free.”
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