The next time you pick up items for your pantry at the Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market, you can also grab something for your medicine cabinet.

Thanks to grant funding, the United Way of Door County and the Door County Alcohol and Other Drug Coalition are distributing free lockboxes and lock pouches for prescription drugs and other medications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 13,000 people die each year from drug overdoses involving prescription opioids. That number reached a record high of 17,029 in 2017.

United Way of Door County Executive Director Amy Kohnle said even gummy multivitamins can lead to a trip to the emergency room if they fall into the wrong hands. She said the program gives people greater peace of mind when it comes to safely storing their medications.

The grant also covers pouches that help people safely dispose of expired medications if they cannot make it to one of the drug take-back events hosted by local law enforcement.

The lockboxes and pouches are available every Saturday at the Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market and periodically at other farmers markets throughout Door County.