about the local food shelves, and she said she didn’t have a car to take public transportation. That’s when I pulled the idea back off the shelf,” Dockter said. Dockter said her connection to the public-school system as a former teacher, and the support of longtime NDU member and Jeannette Myhre social worker, Chris Hall, led her to move forward with the project and ask students at the Career Academy to construct the pantries. “We needed some boxes built and I thought, when I worked there, I had always really valued connecting the kids to the community. And so I thought maybe we could both take advantage of this and learn something and get this kicked off for our community,” Dockter said. Schumacher and his students began researching designs in April. He said it was a great fit because his students learned real-world skills while working for a greater cause. “They use many different types of machines and tools to put it together. And, you know, we talk about the different types of materials that we have to deal with and what we’re using there, air guns and using air-nailers and gluing everything together, and putting on shingles, and we actually show them this is how shingles are put on. Many of these kids haven’t done that before,” Schumacher said.
him. He says, as a Pre-Engineering Instructor, his department always looks at what it can do for the community. Plus, he says it’s rewarding to see kids complete a project from design to installation. “You know, five years from now they may look back at it and say, hey, that is the pantry box and we built it, and it does mean something. It is something I’m a part of, and I was able to grow within the community as an individual. Five years later, they’re an older person saying that was an important thing that we actually did for the community,” Schumacher said. Schumacher has been a teacher for over 20 years and says he’s been a proud NDU member his whole career. He says he thinks it’s important in whatever he does, from teaching to officiating, to be a part of the group. “I’m a part of a national refereeing group, I’m part of a North Dakota coaches group and NDU. So, I think any group I’m going to be involved with, anything I’m going to do, I need to be involved with them. If I’m a home builder, I want to be a part of the Homebuilders Association,” says Schumacher. Dockter is looking for places to host the pantries and says she’s open to churches, businesses or organizations who can help out. For more information about the Little Free Pantries project, you can contact Kim Dockter at lfpbismarckmandan@gmail.com.
Schumacher says the Little Free Pantries are a point of pride for ndunited.org
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