Vandals destroy donations at Audubon Public Library's Free Little Pantry

The Little Free Pantry outside of the Audubon Public Library in Camden County is usually stocked with donations meant to help families in need, but things have been placed on hold after vandals recently destroyed the food inside more than once.

Audubon Peer to Peer Aid is a non-profit food bank that delivers food to those who need it and stocks several of the little free pantries around the area.

But, several times they’ve found the one that sits outside of the Audubon Library vandalized with food left in the dirt.

“There’s people that really depend on this. So in a climate where food banks are struggling to keep food on their shelves, it’s really difficult to watch someone throw that basically in the trash,” Kelli Aceto, Audubon Peer to Peer Aid president, said. “Have been told its kids, we don’t know 100%, that are going around taking items out, smashing them and kind of like, smearing it all over the pantry. It’s just been disheartening because we are having a hard time already.”

The non-profit explained that this little free pantry is a big help because it breaks down barriers.

If someone needs food, they can simply walk up and take it, no questions asked.

Aceto said that if the vandals really are children, she hopes parents can use this as a teachable moment.

“Maybe they don’t understand the impact of what is in that box but to some families that is their only chance at eating dinner,” Aceto explained.

For now, until they can come up with some sort of solution, the non-profit is putting restocking the pantry on hold.

“We can’t waste the product that we are having a hard time getting already,” she said.

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