Little Free Yellow Pantry - Day 20

Here is a quick update on the Little Yellow Free Pantry!

SOOOO many kind people have donated!  Oh my goodness, the first few days after the pantry opened we were overwhelmed with donations!  It seemed that each time I emptied the big plastic bin for donations on the front porch, it would fill up again!  I have set up a big pantry in the basement and sorted items by type – canned vegetables, canned fruits, breakfast items, pasta, etc.  It feels a bit like a little grocery store down there!

And other kind souls donated cash for the project - $510 to be precise!!  Isn’t that amazing?? 

So here is how it is going:

It was slow at first…  We set the pantry up on the quieter side of our home (though both sides are busy, the location where we installed the pantry has less car traffic).  We thought having it on the quieter side would mean more privacy for visitors.  We felt people would feel more comfortable stopping and shopping if it was not too exposed.  And I think that assumption was right.

View inside the pantry this evening

What was NOT right, and in hindsight I now realize, is WHEN we opened up.  I was so excited when the building of the structure was done that I wanted to fill it and open it immediately!  But, because of my privilege, I had not stopped to consider that the beginning of each month is actually the time when most households have groceries!  So here we were – so eager to share – but cupboards were full.  It was a good lesson to learn, and a reminder I need to try and look at life through other peoples’ lenses and not just my own.

What neighbors have donated is incredible.  Because our community is so diverse, the donations are diverse!!  I love it!!  There are Japanese foods, Hispanic food, organic foods, junk food, Korean foods, you name it!!!  And there are items from every possible store – WalMart, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Grand Mart, you name it!  It is so fun!

A neighbor knew EXACTLY what to donate!  She gave a box full
of this - people use it to make tortillas and are always excited when they see it!

Vietnamese Noodles!

A woman not only donated pasta and sauce - she donated the
POT TO COOK IT IN!  

I made some more signs and we hung them around the neighborhood.  And I think word is getting out!!  We have visitors daily now.  I love it!  The BEST is when I see someone at the pantry looking.  I grab a mask and go out to talk!  I explain that if they tell me what they want, I will go downstairs and make up bags for them.  They are usually so sweet and humble that they are afraid to tell me what to pack for them.  But I don’t want to give someone who hates spicy food hot sauce, or someone who is diabetic sugary cereal, so I usually ask some probing questions and get a general idea before I rush down to get their items.  It is fun!

And, because of the cash donations, we have been able to do personalized grocery trips for 4 families so far!!  Many people are still laid off from the pandemic, or are full time students (you know how expensive that is!), or just need a little more food for the table.  So, I ask them to give me a list and we hit up the grocery store.  David and I love to grocery shop, so it is perfect!  We also bought some MEAT this afternoon to give away and put a sign on the pantry to ring the doorbell if you would like meat.  We have spent $234.59 on fulfilling grocery lists (leaving $255.61 of the cash donations for the project to spend on more personalized lists). 

Today one visitor was happy to share with us that he has gotten 4 coats from Project Warmth at our house.  One he kept and wears, the others he sent to his family in Guatemala.  He is going to come back and show us photos of the family members who got the coats in his country.  He was beaming with pride that he could provide for his family.  It was beautiful.

Before I close, I want to tell you about one daily visitor.  He appears to be experiencing homelessness.  The first time he came his speech was quite confused and he was agitated.  I spoke with him but he would not take anything.  The next day he came, he was more coherent and I brought him out two cold juice boxes, which he liked.  The next time, more juice.  Yesterday when I saw him, he had already arrived at the pantry before I noticed him walking up the sidewalk.  He had found a Gatorade inside and opened it.  As I grabbed a mask to go outside and talk with him, he poured half of the Gatorade on the sidewalk…  Then he grabbed a little cup of mandarin oranges and opened it.  He poured the oranges into his Gatorade!  Isn’t that a great idea!  (Well, it was a messy idea, because half of the oranges landed on the sidewalk, but still, juice and fruit together!  Good combo!)  So TODAY, oh today was brilliant!!  We were outside enjoying the sunshine and I saw him coming.  “Talk with him, I am going to run in and make his order!!” I told David.  So, he and David had a conversation as I rushed downstairs.  When I popped out on the back porch I asked, “Fruit INSIDE the Gatorade again today, sir??” and he gave me a nod.  I carefully put the mandarin oranges in so he could get every last one.  I went out and gave him his treat and he thanked us, smiled, opened the bottle, and walked away drinking it.  Made me so happy!!  I love that the pantry seems to be becoming something of an anchor in his community.

Mandarin oranges in Gatorade - perfect recipe

Many people have asked what donations are needed.  Here are some things we could use:

-          Gatorade (the medium sized bottles)

-          Pasta sauce

-          Canned vegetables

-          Cheese (I will keep it in the refrigerator and put it in bags when visitors come)

-          Butter (again, I will keep it in the refrigerator until someone needs it)

-          One case of bottled water

-          Cash (Venmo @susan-thompson-gaines or PayPal thompsongaines@msn.com ) to be able to do more personal shopping for people

-          Peanut butter

-          Sugar

-          Breakfast bars (granola like bars)

-          Fruit strips for kids

-          Cookies

-          Regular size boxes of cereal (not the tiny ones, we have plenty of those)

-          Baby formula

-          Laundry detergent pods

-          Deodorant

-          Hot sauce

-          Ground coffee

And for the moment we do NOT need:

-          Fruedels (they give them out with school lunches and we have too many Fruedels to count!)

-          Individual cups of fruit (we have a lot)

-          Pasta (we have a lot, just need sauce)

-          Dry beans (we have a lot)

THANK YOU for all of the support on this adventure.  It means a lot to me and to the community.  We all deserve food – GOOD FOOD.