David Aalders with one of two community free food pantries

DAVID AALDERS FIGHTS HUNGER in his own backyard. Literally.

Aaders is the spark plug behind the Fairview Community Cupboard—a community project that set up two outdoor “pantries” in the Fairview neighbourhood in Halifax, where neighbours leave food for hungry people to come and take.

Not like a food bank

The pantries are nothing like food banks. No questions are asked. There are no rules or regulations. No limits on visits. No judgment. If you’re hungry, and there’s food on the pantry shelves, you’re welcome to it.

The pantries were put in place in March 2021 after Aalders read an article on community pantries in Cape Breton. He shared that article on a few community Facebook groups and other residents jumped on board to help get the pantries together.

The neighbours’ group got a microgrant from the YMCA to buy two backyard garden sheds for a couple hundred bucks each. They put one at the Fairview Family Resource Centre and another at the local mosque.

Both pantries were stocked with donations from across the community, including items like loaves of bread, baked goods, boxes of cereal, and cans of food, as well as toiletries and other personal care items. Aalders said whatever was in the pantries would be gone within a couple of hours.

In December residents donated wrapped gifts of books for children. “They were gone fast,” said Aalders.

Aalders said there’s a definite need for the food in Fairview and neighbourhoods just beyond.

“I know the statistics of the child poverty rates … but there is a lot you don’t see. Often it’s a lot of single people … and a lot of people with health issues. You can really tell they are living close to the edge."

Storms demolish pantries

A fierce winter storm in mid-January blew the doors off the pantry at the Fairview Family Resource Centre. Days later, another storm destroyed the second pantry.

Aalders said they’ve been looking at more durable options for new pantries, although a lot of the more durable sheds are more expensive. He said he has a lead on a metal locker they can use, at least for now.

“But in the long run, we’d like to see if we can get much sturdier pantries,” said Aalders. “In an ideal world, we’d work with a neighbourhood handyperson to create some pantries to replace these ones and maybe additional ones, because we’d like to add more pantries.

Aalders says they’d like to have more accessible sites, too, so residents who use walkers or have mobility issues can access them as well. He said they’d also eventually like to set up a bank account where people can make donations to help keep the pantries filled with food.

“I’m really pleased to see how the community has taken an interest,” says Aalders. “I grew up in Fairview and I never used to think it was quite as supportive as it really is.

"I know it still has struggles as a community and it’s one of the reasons we created the pantries. We’re creating a platform to help create community."

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