“Free Pantry” Stuck at CHAVAL Parking Lot is for Sale

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Cailynn Bedard, at the Free Pantry, Today in the CHAVAL Parking Lot.

Cailynn Bedard, a west end resident, stopped by the Free Pantry in the parking lot beside CHAVA this afternoon, to see what supplies were needed to restock the shelves. The shelves were bare.  So she was making a list of items that are needed.  “We’ve donated canned goods along with a can opener, bottled water, diapers and kids’ toys. She and her husband have a young son who is autistic.  “He likes to come here and put supplies in the pantry with us,” Bedard said.  “He’s a good helper.”

The pantry has also been a convenient source of food, narcan provided by the city public health department and other supplies for those in need.  That includes some of the homeless people who are barred from entering some of the local stores because of their inappropriate behavior.  Bedard mentioned too much drinking on behalf of some barring them from entering  some of the local stores.  This fact was confirmed by the manager of one of those stores with this blogger this afternoon.

“We are begging them to come and remove it,” came the abrupt response from an employee of CHAVAL, this afternoon in response to my question about where and when the Free Pantry was moving again as expected.  The Free Pantry was to have remained at the CHAVAL parking lot until this past Labor Day before moving to another neighborhood as previously reported in this blog.   A CHAVAL owner had expressed an ambitious idea for the Free Pantry – including stocking it with food prepared inside the highly regarded restaurant by members of the public who voluntered to take cooking lessons inside the  French-Spanish inspired restaurant.  Apparently, the ambitious idea never got beyond just that.

But there is a problem anyway:  The Free Pantry is for sale for less than $300. according to the Free Pantry’s web page!

For more background information on the Free Pantry, please visit posts herein dated July 9, 2023 and August 12, 2023.