Food, kindling in tiny library: ‘Give people what they need’

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This article was published 13/12/2023 (633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TIM Osmond was returning from a brisk walk in Wolseley with his two-year-old rescue pup, Luna, Monday morning, as the chill set in after days of seasonably warm temperatures.

As Osmond rounded the corner toward his home, he saw someone grabbing books from the little free library in his front yard.

At first glance it wasn’t an unusual sight; his tiny library is the only one on his block of Evanson Street and it’s a popular location. But, upon closer inspection, he realized the individual was cleaning out the structure and stuffing the books into a bag, before heading down the street toward the riverbank.

He’d heard rumours other tiny libraries in the area had been cleared of their contents to be allegedly used as insulation or kindling at homeless encampments. So, instead of re-stocking his library with books, Osmond decided to fill it with wood scraps, tea, granola bars and non-perishables.

“If (he) is using them for kindling, why replace the books right now when so many people are struggling in this area?” Osmond said Tuesday. “Let’s give people what they need and what they’re looking for.”

After above-seasonal temperatures to begin December, Environment Canada reported the mercury had dipped to -10.5 C on Monday, one of the coldest days this month.

“I can see why someone would be in that situation and have to do that. So why not give them something better?” Osmond said.

“Don’t burn books, burn this instead.”

Osmond’s white and lilac library, built out of old bed-frame slats and roof shingles he had laying around, was a gift to his wife. The full-time musician and avid reader said his library is usually filled with children’s books his daughter no longer reads.

The handmade structures, often erected in front yards or on school grounds to house books of all genres and reading levels for passersby to take and leave, have gained popularity around Winnipeg in recent years. More than 200 registered libraries are recorded around the city by the City of Winnipeg Little Free Library map and 150,000 of such exist worldwide, according to the Little Free Library official website.

At Main Street Project, outreach workers haven’t seen or heard about books being used as kindling so people can stay warm, but the idea sparks questions about how people who live outside are able to stay warm safely.

“How do we look at creative ways for people to stay warm in the form of alternative heat sources while not putting them at risk?” said Meredith Done, the manager of the van patrol, adding the cold can be just as deadly as fire.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to 540 fires involving homeless people between January and the end of October, the city said in an email.

On Monday night, crews responded to two unattended fires across the city. Firefighters first doused a blaze engulfing an encampment and the surrounding trees near the riverbank along Stradbrook Avenue, before responding to another fire in a vacant industrial building on Higgins Avenue.

Residents who see vulnerable people exposed to the elements are urged to call 211 — the province’s health and social services hotline — said Jason Whitford, CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg.

“People are in survival mode right now,” he said.

Osmond said his view about the use of little libraries has shifted.

“I think you could get really creative with these little libraries … it’s a little covered container that is dry and you can put anything in there. And it’s kind of a beacon for people,” he said.

In Elmwood, the Gordon King Memorial United Church — colloquially known as “the Big Red Church” — on Cobourg Avenue, has two structures out front: a little free library and a tiny food pantry.

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The church erected the structure so food is available at all hours; its main pantry isn’t open around the clock.

“We figured people needed food all the time, so why not make it available all the time?” said Rev. Patrick Woodbeck.

Osmond said when spring arrives, he may put bins of kindling out beside his library and split the storage within it between food and books, but for the foreseeable future he’ll keep wood and snacks in there.

“It’s all for the community and that’s what these libraries are for: they’re for the community, and that means everybody.”

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.