Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
SAUGUS, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — If you ever find yourself on Water Street in Saugus, you might come across a pair of yellow metal boxes on legs.
These boxes make up the Free Little Pantry, a community pantry outside the home of Jennifer Crotty. Crotty came up with the idea for the pantry in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"I was one of the people that was lucky enough to keep my job, and wanted to do something to help people who didn’t," Crotty told WBZ NewsRadio. "I think I saw the idea on Instagram or Facebook or something, and I was like, Hey, that’s something I can do, so I just started to put it out and people started to use it, and it was really great."
Crotty stocks the boxes with food, dry goods, and some other essentials. The pantry not only helps people in need, but inspires others to pitch in as well.
"What’s been great is other people have taken to putting things in it too, and, you know, whether they’re just putting things in or putting things in when they’re taking things out, it’s really just kind of a community little food bank," Crotty said.
WBZ's Carl Stevens reports.