A Little Free Pantry in Okotoks has been repaired, with the help of the community.
The Little Free Pantries in Woodhaven and Milligan began as a project for Grade 6 students at Westmount School in 2017.
Since then, the Little Free Pantries have served Okotoks families occasionally, regularly, or for the times in between Food Bank hamper pick-ups.
The pantry is designed for residents to take what they need and leave what they can.
When Tara Casey went to take items to both pantries at the beginning of September, the door to the Woodhaven pantry by the Okotoks Lions Campground was smashed.
She took to social media, asking the community for help either repairing or replacing the door.
Facebook/Tara Casey
Okotoks resident, Matt Tremblay, offered to help after his day home provider, Stephanie Murdoch, mentioned the incident when he was picking up his son.
“Knowing that I’m a handy guy, she gave me a rundown, that the family who takes care of it couldn't find anyone to repair it,” Tremblay said.
He went to the pantry to assess the damage and determined that it was going to be an easy fix.
“I ripped the door off, took some notes about a couple of other issues to repair, and went on my way,” Tremblay said.
To prevent the glass from being smashed in the future, it was replaced with a piece of plexiglass.
“I grabbed a piece of plexiglass and some window sealant and did the door repairs at home that night,” Tremblay said.
He explained that the repair was a matter of splitting the frame from the glass, cutting a new piece of plexiglass to the right size, fitting it to the frame, sealing it, and letting it cure.
The next day, he returned to the pantry to install the door and complete a couple of other small repairs.
“As I arrived, a gentleman was there making use of the pantry,” Tremblay said. “It made me feel good to help. That was all I needed.”
After the repair was completed, the pantry was full once again.