When Bethlehem resident Jane Florenz started constructing a project in her home workshop last December, she envisioned it being a little free library that would offer books for anyone who wanted one. When she finished it two weeks ago, however, she realized that she needed to shift gears with the coronavirus pandemic advancing and the fallout from it affecting many Bethlehem residents’ employment, so she put it to better use. It’s now a miniature food pantry, and she has installed it in the front yard of her home at 1040 Cumberland St.

‘There are two kinds of people,” Florenz says, “those of us who are okay and those who have had the rug pulled out from underneath themselves.”

Florenz hopes people will bring donations to her home at 1040 Cumberland St., which she will place in the pantry. “They should check the expiration dates,” she says, “and can place them on the red Adirondack chair on my front porch.” Florenz says she’ll take it from there.

“It’s very important that we all work on this together,” she added.