Happy 5th Birthday Little Yellow Free Pantry!

Who could have imagined that 5 years ago, when we cut the ribbon and opened the Little Yellow Free Pantry, it would become the symbol of COMMUNITY that it is today.  I for one would not have predicted how big this labor of love would grow.

In those first weeks the pantry was open, no one came.  No one knew the resource was available.  Cans of peaches and boxes of cereal would stay on the shelves a few days before finding their way to a new home.

We put up signs, oh did we put up signs.  We had signs in several languages asking people if they were hungry, explaining we had free groceries.  We hung signs all along our fence and at the local bus stops.

But still, few people came.  No one knew.

Then slowly, somehow, the word started to get out.  And magically, guests began to come.

And they haven’t stopped since.

I often say that people come to use the pantry 24 hours a day.  That may sound like an exaggeration, but it is not.  People come at 1 am after finishing a late-night shift.  People come at 7 am on their way to work or school.  People come at 3 pm for an afternoon snack.  People come at 6 pm to get food to make dinner for their families.

And the donations – donations for the pantry arrive 24 hours a day, too.  Often when I wake up and check the donation bin on the porch before work, there are new items in it.  Amazon and Costco deliveries come almost every day. 

It is hard to explain what the pantry means.

Of course, it is a resource for food.  That is the obvious.  But it is so much more.

It is a place for friendship.  It is a place for community.  It is a place for gratitude and acceptance.  It is a place for diversity.  It is a place for caring and a place for kindness.

I will be honest - 25-year-old me didn’t picture 60-year-old me sitting on my front porch steps chatting and serving a hot meal to someone experiencing homeless.  Or knowing how a guest who rents a room nearby likes his coffee and running down to make him a hot cup on a cold day.  Or talking with people who live in their cars or at the shelter or in a house that holds multiple generations of family. 

We have met so many amazing people through the pantry.  There’s “lentil man” – big surprise, he loves lentils.  There’s the little baby who has come to the pantry her whole life – first strapped onto her mamma’s back with a colorful cloth, then in a stroller, now walking on her own.  There’s the person who won’t take any money we offer, but happily sat with us on Christmas day just talking for an hour. 

And the donors.  The donors are amazing.  If you follow our stories, you know about E.A. Raven, the patron saint of the LYFP.  But you might not know about Pat Walkup, who donates bag after bag after bag of nutritious, tasty food.  And Whitney Engstrom, who kept sending food even after she moved to Hawaii.  And the kind person who set up an Amazon subscription to shelf stable Almond Milk to be delivered.  And “snack man” – who walks to the pantry on a break from work and fills it with perfectly arranged treats.  There are also the people who get food from the pantry, and also bring what they have to share what they can so that others might eat, too.  There’s Duffy who bakes amazing cookies to share.  The Girl Scout troops who keep us stocked in cookies.  And the many, many others who donate so much to keep the pantry alive.

And the Pantry Crew – the small but mighty group of amazing humans who keep the pantry running when we can’t.  And Danyi – who has spent HOURS breaking down boxes from donations to prepare them for recycling and cheerfully greeting guests and donors.  And the sweet people who seal bag after bag of rice and beans.  And the kind family who pours oil into jar after jar, so that donations of big jugs can help many families cook.

To most people it looks small.  After all, it is just 2 little shelves.  But those shelves feed a community.  Over $87,000 worth of food is donated and given away every year here.

But to me, even more important than the food is the people.

People who come to the LYFP get more than nutrition. 

They get respect.  And variety.  And a listening ear if they want to talk. 

That little box has changed lives.  Lives of donors.  Lives of guests.  And most certainly my life.

Happy birthday LYFP.  Here’s to many more.

Project Warmth 2026 Is In The Books!

Here’s the deal:  at Kindness Activist, we have a LOT going on.

For example, just this afternoon David said to me, “I can’t believe you are organizing THREE EVENTS at the same time…”.  And it is true, I am.  Ugh.  (Shhh, plus another one he has not heard about yet…)

But that’s ok!!  Because there are always things to do, and there is always kindness that can be spread!

One thing we are trying to get better at is FINISHING projects.  Like, actually putting all of the bits and pieces away.  Writing a report on how things went.  Posting a blog to share with YOU, the kind people who follow our work and donate warm clothing.  Really closing projects out before diving into the next one (or two or three…  Or perhaps at the same time as diving into the next one/s…).

Anyway, consider this the closing piece on PROJECT WARMTH, 2026!   I figure, now that temperatures are in the 90s here in South Arlington, Virginia, I should sit down and tell you how the big winter project went.

Our goal for 2026 was to give away at least 200 coats (we counted snow pants/snow bibs as coats, too).  200 was a lofty goal…  So, how did we do…

We blew that lofty goal out of the water!!

Project Warmth 2026 distributed 269 coats!!!! 

And along with coats, we gave away loads of hats, scarves, hand warmers, mittens, gloves, sweaters, shirts, long underwear, boots, some flannel pajama pants, and socks.  Whew – there was a LOT!

We accepted donations January 3 – 10.  We set everything up and handed out the first items on January 12.  Here is a fun fact: the first coat found a new home in just 10 minutes!!  We hit our goal of 200 on March 5, and kept going a couple of weeks after that. 

Things that went really well this year:

-         Storing all of the donations in storage unit at CubeSmart in Shirlington.  We had 3 sturdy clothing racks full of donations on hangers, an overflowing table of MORE donations waiting to be hung, and 2 other tables with scarves, hats, etc. 

-         Setting up a sturdy clothes rack in our basement to bring items over a few at a time as needed.

-         Sorting the racks at the storage unit into women’s, men’s, and kid’s.  That brilliant move didn’t happen until mid-season, but we have learned it is worth the time to do it.

-         Accepting donations for only one week.  We had plenty during that short period, and it was good to not have bags of gear showing up on our porch all season.

-         The new hangers!!  We have always had an issue with people taking the hangers with the coats, meaning we have to keep replacing hangers all season.  But this year, someone on Buy Nothing was giving away metal hangers just like hotels have – the kind that you cannot get off the closet rod no matter how hard you try.  We used those and they were brilliant and solved the hangers disappearing issue.

-         Adding warm winter socks to the wish list for the Little Yellow Free Pantry.  We want new socks to hand out – everyone deserves warm, good condition socks.  Having them on the wish list made it easy for donors to purchase.

-         Being willing to donate most of what was left at the end to charity instead of trying to pack it away for next year.  We only saved a few really good items that never got put out.

Snowstorm during Project Warmth 2025

And things that could’ve gone better and we hope to improve next year:

-         We had a lot of sweaters and shirts, and realized that coats are more needed and get taken quicker.  We may not accept sweaters next year, but stick to coats, hoodies, snow pants/snow bibs, boots, and the other accessories.

-         We need to put sizes on the boots.  It is hard to people to see inside them, especially when it is dark out and cold.

-         We need to ask for more HELP.  One night a neighbor came to CubeSmart and was soooo kind to organize a ton.  It was very helpful.  Next year, we need to ask for help to hang and organize.  People want to help, but they can’t if we don’t ask.

There you have it!  Another successful Project Warmth in the books. 

David jumping for joy at Project Warmth 2025

Special thanks to: 

-         Michael Jones, Sr. at CubeSmart.  You sir, ROCK!

-         Lauren Siperstein – thank you for the loan of the sturdy clothes rack again this year.  I promise we will return it soon (see above – trying to improve actually finishing things…)

-         The many, many kind people who donated items to be given away

-         The neighbor who made the sign for Project Warmth a few years ago – was it Lauren??  I love that sign – it is so effective, functional, and beautiful

-         The neighbor who helped me organize soooo much one evening at CubeSmart

-         The mysterious person who donated the “The Comfy”.  Even though it is kid sized, it is so amazing.  I confess, I kept it.  I washed it up and pulling it out of the dryer…  Oh my goodness…  Anyway, I PROMISE that I put in a couple of my coats and sweaters to make up for taking this donation, but I am now a proud owner of a (kid size) The Comfy.

-         The sweet neighbors who were so thankful to get warm clothing.  We heard loads of “God bless you”s and statements of gratitude

-         And my partner for now and forever, David Gaines, who made trip after trip after trip to CubeSmart with me, repaired the sign for me, put coats out when I couldn’t be here, put up with me obsessively making tic marks for each coat taken, and was/is the most supportive human in the world

And with that – PROJECT WARMTH 2026 IS A WRAP!

P.S. – I just did a bit of research to figure out just how long we have been hosting Project Warmth.  I teared up when I realized – 2026 was our 11th year.  Over a DECADE of giving away winter gear, helping people in need stay warm all winter.  Color me proud.