By Christian Silvia

It was formerly an egg stand and a free-to-take library, but during the federal government shutdown and resulting suspension of SNAP benefits, 204 Stafford Road residents Jason and Jess Mercier decided to convert their roadside stand, which they call the ”Harvest Homestead,” into a free-to-take roadside pantry.

Jason, a government worker, had been wanting to renovate their farm stand as the free library, was stacking up with donated books. Jess got the idea after watching a TikTok video of a woman who made a similar pantry for food, cleaning supplies and other essentials.

When she posted about the idea, local support was immediate.

“It was filled within two days,” she said. “People are still coming and it keeps getting filled and people are coming and taking from it

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