Sharing Tables Offering Free Food, Toiletries, And Cleaning Supplies Popping Up In California, New York
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — A simple folding table holding basic necessities like food, toiletries and cleaning supplies is a huge gesture of kindness for people who are struggling to get through the pandemic.
So-called "sharing tables" are popping up throughout Southern California. One of them appears once a week on a Santa Monica sidewalk.
Throughout the day, people drop off supplies and others take what they need – for free. No one oversees the table, so there's no questions asked.
Lee Brenner of Santa Monica said the sharing tables are a direct response to the panic buying and empty shelves that everyone saw at the start of the pandemic, and still occasionally appear a year later.
"People were hoarding and people were scared, and now I just feel like we have to undo that," Brenner said. "So we have to do more than just forget about it and move on, I feel like we have to undo that and show kind of who we really are as a community."
The Sharing Tables of NY & CA has more than 2,000 followers on Facebook, which is where Kseniya Yorsh learned about it. She decided to drop off a few things with her baby in tow.
"I came by and dropped off some mac and cheese, and some snacks that I had," she said. "I saw a post on Facebook that there was this thing going on, and I thought I had some extra items and it would be nice to share with somebody who might be in need."
There are now almost three dozen sharing tables in California and New York, and more keep appearing.
