There will be a giveaway shop in Oostzaan for the first time. The store will be located in an empty villa at Zuideinde 180, which will be demolished in the future because it is under high-voltage cables. The volunteers of the organization ‘Oostzaners for each other’ are happy with it. “It is also badly needed here,” says volunteer Wendy Siemons. “There is so much poverty.”
The shop will open just before Christmas. It will also be a meeting center and an information desk for the municipality and food bank. Michel Westdijk is also a volunteer and shows us the pantry upstairs. In one of the bedrooms there are two huge freezers. One is full of meats and the other is almost empty. “We want to put loaves of bread in it later,” says Michel. On the shelves are food, dog and cat food, sanitary towels and lots of deodorant. “Entrepreneurs and individuals are already very generous with their donations.”
Join for dinner
Downstairs in the spacious living room it looks cozy with a Christmas tree and nice sofas. There are three tables with chairs. “They can also be taken for free when we are open,” says Michel. It is hoped that at least a table with chairs will remain because the volunteers really want it to become a living room as well. “That you come here for a nice cup of coffee,” says Debby van Ingen, “or just sit down for dinner. Because we also plan to cook.”
Items can be delivered daily until the opening on Monday 19 December. “We can use everything,” says Debby, who herself knows very well what poverty is. “Ten years ago I myself was in poverty as a single mother with three children.” It is a matter of survival and with that she now wants to contribute to help others.