With tens of thousands of Walt Disney World Cast Members now furloughed and in the process of being enrolled into Florida’s overburdened unemployment system due to COVID-19 closures, resources are scarce for both adults living on their own as well as families in the Orlando area. Thankfully, one Cast Member is stepping up to assist other Cast Members in need with the Cast Member Pantry, a donation-based pantry where employees can book a 15-minute window to stop by and “shop” free of charge.
Emily Lartigue is the lead Cast Member behind the project, which started out as a small grassroots effort to redistribute leftover groceries.
The project has since evolved into a full-on pantry stocked with non-perishable food, pet supplies, and toiletries. The Cast Member Pantry was recently featured on WFTV, and has helped over 80 households.
The My Neighborhood Storage Center has donated two months of rent to the CM Pantry in an air-conditioned space.
Cast Members can email Cast Member Pantry or contact them via their Facebook page to book a 15-minute shopping window. These shopping windows are also set up to maintain social distancing during the pandemic.
Most of the donations come from other Cast Members and members of the Disney community, and include canned, shelf-stable, and frozen goods, plus other necessary basic items.
If you’re a Cast Member in need of some grocery items or a member of the community looking to donate non-perishable food items, you can find out more details via their Facebook page.
For a closer look at the CM Pantry, check out the special spotlight video by WFTV below:
How do you Donate?
Many people should post this story / link on Bob Iger’s twitter — https://twitter.com/RobertIger?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
The fact that employees of one of the biggest companies in the world that live in the wealthiest country in the world have to do this tells you everything that’s wrong with this country. We cannot go back to “normal”. We need to stand with workers as a community and as consumers and assist in organizing unions and supporting strikes when this is all over. There are no heroes in Washington. They have revealed themselves to all be the villains with this latest multi trillion dollar handout to billion dollar corporations as working people are starving. The only way democracy wins is if we all stand together.
Well stated Jamie!