As a hypothetical newcomer to Muskegon, it may be difficult to find resources for a multitude of circumstances; whether it be food, water, masks during historically high AQI index readings, or clothing that is intended to be worn by anyone, regardless of orientation or gender identity. All of these resources are simply a few amongst many things that The People’s Pantry has to offer for the community on a 24/7 basis.
“We always want to provide what people need,” said Amber Autumns, co-founder of The People’s Pantry, along with her mother, Terry Lynne Parker. “We cannot always provide more than a little food and clothing, but when there is a strong need for something, we are happy to help when we can.”
Most recently, with the support and partnership of Muskegon Pride, The People’s Pantry will be providing gender neutral clothing to anyone who needs it and is able to make the trip to The Pantry’s physical location.
“A board member from [Muskegon Pride] contacted us through Facebook about the idea to help us provide gender-affirming and gender-non-conforming clothing to the Muskegon community after a community member brought up the need for them at a previous meeting,” said Autumns, commenting on how the idea to provide the latter resources came to fruition. “They also asked what else we need, so we discussed them helping us make our pantry look more inviting and inclusive.”
The articles of clothing included within this initiative are binders, unisex clothing, and chest tape. Muskegon Pride will be donating $50 monthly to fund these items.
“We did not buy [the clothing] all at once,” said Autumns. “So we can always be open to suggestions on what items and sizes people may need.”
Along with this most recent initiative, the Pantry also took it upon themselves to provide N95 masks and water to the community as wildfires continued to rage throughout the neighboring country of Canada, with harmful smoke crossing the border into the midwestern region of the US. Muskegon, which veered between the 200-300 AQI range at the height of the massive smoke migration to the states, was able to lean upon The People’s Pantry providing water and masks intermittently throughout the worst of the high AQI epidemic.
“I just really want to help,” said Parker, co-founder of The People’s Pantry. “My daughters, son-in-laws, friends, and community members work together to do the best we can to provide whatever we can. It’s a huge community effort.”
The People’s Pantry is located at 353 W Southern Ave. in Downtown Muskegon, and it is open 24/7 to all who require its potential resources. If you would like to donate potential resources to The Pantry, please visit the physical location, or consider donating funds at https://linktr.ee/peoplespantrymuskegon.
