“Do you no longer have the cupboard?” Asks a woman who is at the garden fence. The woman, who has seen Stephanie at the cupboard before, is going through a difficult period. With a lump in her throat, Stephanie tells that she has stopped.
They both burst into tears. “I know she is having a hard time at the moment,” she says. “I gave her a bag and asked her to fill it with what she could use.”
She thinks it is incredibly sad that it has to walk that way. Stephanie, who would rather not be mentioned with her last name, had an exchange or giveaway cabinet at her home in Medemblik since 2023.
Bread, vegetables, soup and tampons
This cupboard was accessible to everyone, and people can get things out, exchange or donate anonymously. You found everything there; From bread, vegetables, fruit and soup to toiletries, tampons and sanitary pads.
But since December last year, the cabinet has been completely emptied several times. She does have a suspicion who the two perpetrators are. “They are known to the police, but they say they can’t do anything, because they don’t accept help and there is only one report. I have even entered into a conversation with these people several times and have offered help. But it doesn’t work out.” The police confirm that a report has been received.