Ashland Public Library launches ‘Little Free Pantry’ to support community needs

ASHLAND — Jennifer Ruiz knows first-hand what it can be like to need help.

Ruiz, who works at the Ashland County Board of Developmental Disabilities, remembers her father losing his job during the recession in 2011. She said her family used a food pantry as a resource to survive.

In adulthood, Ruiz previously worked as a food pantry coordinator. So, in her career she saw people come in and out of the food pantry for help, too.

Ruiz knows there can be shame associated with turning to that kind of resource. But there shouldn’t be, she said. At the end of the day, she thinks of it as mutual aid — community helping community.

Still, food pantries and programs like food stamps have gaps. For example, Ruiz said, the food pantry she worked at had to close during a blizzard one year, which meant people couldn’t access items they needed.

There are also items the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doesn’t cover, including hygiene products, according to its website.

After the food pantry closed during the blizzard, she was asked to come up with ideas to ensure people would have access to the resources they need — even in the midst of that type of event.

In her research she came across people who’d turned their “Little Free Libraries” into “Little Free Pantries” during the COVID pandemic.

The idea didn’t work out with the food pantry, she said. But, in January, Ruiz’s husband Taylor attended an Ashland Young Professionals meeting.

There, he heard library director Charlene Tolbert sharing about the library’s desire to offer more resources for the community. Jennifer shared her idea about the Little Free Pantry, and 11 months later, it’s now come to fruition.

“It’s my proudest accomplishment,” Jennifer said.

Pantry participation

The Ashland Public Library celebrated the opening of the pantry with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Tuesday afternoon.

“We want to invite you to be an active participant in this project,” Tolbert said.

That goes for both people who want to donate to the pantry, and for people who might need the items in it.

Those who want to donate to the pantry can bring accepted items to the library’s front desk.

Anybody who needs to access the pantry can do so during library hours. The library is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It’s open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

There’s a checkout list in the pantry where people are encouraged to mark the date they took an item, and note what they took. People are not asked to leave their names.

Tolbert said that list will help the library determine the items people need most and adjust the items it’s asking people to donate.

Connecting the community

At the ribbon cutting, Tolbert noted the pantry came together with the help of a grant from the Ashland County Community Foundation. She said the library received $500, which it spent turning a small study room into the pantry.

Sandra Tunnell, president of the library’s board of trustees, said at the ribbon cutting that the board unanimously approved a pitch from Tolbert to create the pantry.

“From the beginning, the Ashland Public Library has always connected the community with the things (it) needs,” Tolbert said.

Those needs go beyond books, she added.

The library teamed with local social service organizations, library patrons and a knitting group from Peace Lutheran Church. Those groups donated all the items currently in the pantry.

It has a variety of personal hygiene items, from hand-knit washcloths to toothbrushes and toothpaste. Plus, the pantry boasts free seeds for people to take home with them to grow their own produce.