Punk pantries appear in Torbay

Supplying emergency food

Pavement pantries have begun appearing in Devon offering free emergency food supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Punk Against Poverty, a community company launched last year in Torbay's responsible for what they're calling Punk Pantries. 

 Steffi Rox and Jess Gan set it up to provide food for those in immediate need and are not intended to replace food banks or other services.

The first pantry arrived in Paignton, in Penwill Road, at the end of March, and the first in Brixham opened a week later in Higher Ranscombe Road.  Three days later the network across Torbay had increased to 15, and it doubled again in the following week to the current 30.

The pantries are in a variety of boxes and cupboards on pavements, many coloured pink to reflect the punk theme, and local volunteers monitor them and protect the food if it rains. The supplies are available free 24 hours a day, with no need for a referral.

Ms Rox says the principle behind the network is “take what you need, leave what you can”, based on the Little Free Pantry movement in the United States. “They are for people who run short before payments arrive, for example if they have to pay a bill and have no money left. The pantries will also reduce waste, because people can donate any food they don’t want or can’t use. If someone does need longer-term support, they can get in touch and we will refer them for help.”

The idea is that the pantries should be self-sustaining with local donations, but during the coronavirus crisis they have been so heavily used that some extra supplies have had to be bought in. Food donations have come from individuals and companies, including Morrisons in Paignton and Devon Fresh, which has offered regular deliveries of surplus fruit and vegetables.

The most popular foods have been easy-to-cook meals like instant noodles and soup, reflecting the fact that many people in rented housing are without a proper cooker and only have a kettle to boil water.

Punk Against Poverty has also organised stationery supplies for children to keep them occupied during the lockdown. Packs with crayons and activity books have been distributed through Torbay Council’s children’s services team and the RE4orm community interest company, which is delivering meals to families. Punk has also held a school uniform swap shop jointly with RE4orm, and is about to move into a shop in Union Street. That will open with a fundraising thrift shop selling vintage clothing when the lockdown measures are lifted.

An estimated 6,000 children were living in poverty in Torbay before the coronavirus pandemic, which has been made worse by lockdown measures including school closures, salary cuts and job losses.

The Punk Against Poverty GoFundMe page is at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/punkpantry