After three months of activity, a newly introduced project is putting a dent into local hunger.

In September, nursing students from the University of Saskatchewan began collaborating with Prince Albert Parkland Health Region nurses to open a number of Little Free Pantry and Little Free Wardrobe boxes around the community.

The boxes are filled with free food and winter clothes for needy citizens, and so far the effect has been noticeable.

“There’s a quick turnover rate,” nursing student Larissa Lepine said. “These things are being used.”

So far there are seven such boxes around the city, and students are in the process of tracking down just how much use they receive. It’s a little too early to know precisely how much free food and clothing is being distributed, but observation suggests it’s a lot.

“The one by Our House on 15th (Street East), it’s always empty and then filled empty and then filled, but it’s also a very high traffic area,” explained Leah Serviss, another nursing student.

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