LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Addressing food insecurity isn't an easy thing to do, but it has to start somewhere, no matter how small. It's exactly what Lacy Selig is doing in her neighborhood.
"There seem to be people who have a little bit more and a little bit less than us," she said. "We just wanted to do our part."
Doing that though started with something negative.
"Six months ago, we had a break in in our home," Selig said. "It was scary because we were home that night."
While you might be thinking the person responsible was after valuables, they weren't.
They were after food.
"Made a quick right, another quick right, and opened our refrigerator," Selig said. "Took out some frozen meals and went right back out."
After calling the police, Selig said her family decided not to press charges – instead, they wanted to help.
"We as a family had been racking our brain about a way that we could not just call the police and file the incident report, but really try and connect with the community about the issue," she said. "That's what led us to our sharing pantry."
A small box just off the corner of the families property off Broadway in Little Rock, but it's already having a big impact.
"We installed it and a neighbor came by and said, you know, 'Somebody's gonna clear you out of that,'" Selig said. "I paused and I thought, 'Yeah, that's the point!'"
Selig said the pantries only been up for just over a day, but they've already had to refill it multiple times. Others in the area, like State Representative Denise Ennett, say it's good to see community solutions.
"The community has had a hand in it, the government can't always solve all the problems," Rep. Ennett said. "So what Lacy has done with her and her family, it's just one of the ways the community can get involved."
Selig doesn't want to dwell on what inspired the box – but rather, what it's inspiring.
"This is not the answer to all those problems, this is just here for our community and neighbors," Selig said. "There are bigger issues, cooling centers, lots of things that the city and the community can do, I just hope our small part makes a difference."