During the pandemic, Michael Reinmiller saw that some communities were putting up boxes or cabinets with a door and stocking them with food and other essentials for people in need. He thought this was right up his alley so he made a box and put it up That started a Little Free Pantry movement that continues to grow in the Capitol City.
Reinmiller says, “My father-in-law built about a dozen or 14 of them. Civic Nebraska got us a grant to pay for the materials for many of them and it snowballed. It started with one and there are now more than 40 in Lincoln that I know of.”
Inside those Little Free Pantries are essentials that people need. Popular food items are cereal, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, crackers, breakfast bars, pop tarts, and canned foods. Reinmiller says, “Feminine hygiene projects are a fortune. You can buy $300 in feminine hygiene products and it doesn’t fill many pantries. Diapers are another thing. When it is really hot I try to put out sunscreen so that if someone is experiencing homelessness they can put them on. Baby wipes are another item that are really expensive and if you are a parent you really need to have them. Every once in a while in the winter, I put a couple of Snickers candy bars in them because everyone deserves chocolate.” For Christmas last year, a church group put frozen hams inside the pantries to feed those in need.
The pantries have a sticker on them that says, “take what you need, leave what you can” and #kindnessmatters.
Reinmiller says they soon will be sending out fliers that say “Make Your Own Stuffing Squad” or “Cramming Council”. He says, “The idea is you get six or eight friends and each of you hit one pantry once a week. You don’t have to fill it. Put in a few boxes of cereal or a box pop tarts and that is it. But if 10 of your friends are doing it, it is full pretty often. This is a huge example of what it is like to be a resident of Lincoln. Even if you are experiencing homelessness and are hungry or you have kids to feed, people give a ‘you know what’. I think that is so awesome.” ‘
Several times a month, you will see Reinmiller and his family making the rounds and filling up the pantries to help others in our community.