'Little Free Pantry' Goes Missing In Bed-Stuy

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A "Little Free Pantry" that has been helping out residents in Bed-Stuy for four months has gone missing, Patch has learned.

The blue pantry, made from an old newspaper box, went missing from its spot on Hull Street next to a "Little Free Library" sometime over the weekend, creator Julien Zeitouni said.

Zeitouni last remembers seeing the pantry Friday evening and realized it was gone on Sunday.

"I've looked around the neighborhood, but haven't seen it again," he told Patch on Wednesday.

The "take what you need, leave what you can" box — filled with food and other necessities — has sat next to the community library between Rockaway Ave and Mother Gaston Boulevard since Halloween.

Zeitouni, who put up the library two years ago, set it up to help neighbors struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said he worries someone might have stolen the pantry, but isn't quite sure if that's the case.

"That was my first thought," he said. "Or maybe someone didn’t want to see it or its users anymore? I don’t want to point any fingers as I have no clue."

Others have suggested the city's Sanitation Department might have removed it, he added, but neighbors think that is unlikely given that it has been there for four months without any problems.

The pantry was weighted down with bricks and not easy to move, though it didn't have any other securing mechanisms.

"Maybe I should have put the chain on it but I really didn’t anticipate this!" he told Patch.

Zeitouni is asking anyone with information about where the pantry might be to reach out to him. He has posted on local community Facebook groups to help spread the word.