Despite living in a first world country, we know that many families find it tough to make ends meet and put food on the table for their kids. Financial worry is one of the top stresses for families in Australia.

The same financial woes have been felt in America. One woman, Jessica Mcclard, 41,  wanted to do something about it.

Inspired by the Little Free Libraries that were emerging in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the US, Jessica decided to build free pantries, filled with food, that would be made available for the public to help themselves when times were tight.

Thrivent Financial gave Jessica $250 towards her project and she set up her first free pantry next to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayettville on the 10th May. The project has been a great success and The Little Free Pantry project now has over 10,000 fans on Facebook and little pantries are popping up around various locations.

Jessica was amazed that locals got onboard with the project and filled the pantries with food and hygene products.

Jessica told Huffpost, “Peanut butter and jelly, feminine hygiene products and diapers are in demand.”

“My feeling is little free structures both create space for neighborliness and address social problems.”

It’s Jessica’s hope that other communities embrace the project and provide their own Little Free Pantry to help those in need in their community.