BG Micropantry asks for donations of cold weather items due to freezing temperatures
One of five micro pantries in an old newspaper vending machine that was donated by the Bowling Green Daily News. This micropantry is located at 958 Collett Avenue, across from International Center of Kentucky.
December 23, 2022
With snow and freezing temperatures seen across Kentucky, BG Micropantry is asking for winter items to help populations affected by the cold.
Jason Lowe, a WKU political science student, started BG Micropantry in efforts to fight insecurity.
The micropantries are in old newspaper street tins and are located throughout Bowling Green. The three current locations of the micropantries are 958 Collett Avenue, Corner of West 12th and Clay Street, Natcher Elementary School, Starbucks on Scottsville Road and Madison Avenue Baptist Church.
“We try to make sure that we have items that are specific to whatever’s going on,” Lowe said.
Lowe hopes to stock the pantries with socks, hats, gloves and coats. Other cold weather items suggested to donate via the pantry’s Instagram post include hand warmers, lotion and first aid items.
“The bulk of our donations […] are cans or, you know, non perishable food items,” Lowe said. “We just throw that [post] up there to remind people that we need the jackets and scarves and gloves or whatever.”
Lowe originally created the pantries for his Young Leaders for Social Change fellowship with Southern Partners. Southern Partners is a regional community foundation located in Atlanta, Georgia, governed by people of color grassroots leaders from rural communities across 12 states in the Southeast. At the end of the fellowship, students were to create a project such as a non-profit, research or documentary.
Now, Lowe’s fellowship has ended, but he is continuing to grow the pantries on his own. One of his goals for the pantry includes providing refrigerated items in addition to non- perishables.
“The whole time I wanted to do a refrigerated version of this as something I’m still interested in, but I’ve gotten a lot of different routes with that,” Lowe said. “It’s been really difficult to find a good location for it because it just has a lot more liability involved with having cold food, but that’s still something that I’d be interested in working towards.”
To donate, drop off any cold weather items at any of the five locations or venmo @bgmicropantry.
Editor-in-Chief Debra Murray can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @debramurrayy.
