Little Free (Food) Pantries: a neighborly way to address food insecurity Background: In 2016 the Wellmark Foundation Community Kickstarter awarded the Drake Neighborhood $10,000 to bring Little Free (Food) Pantries to the Drake campus and nearby neighborhoods. The pantries are modeled after the Little Free Pantry program launched in Fayetteville, Ark., in 2016.

Why is this a need? There are two main sources of supplemental food sources available to Des Moines residents. Supplemental Nutrition (SNAP) benefits received by approximately 15% of families in the Drake neighborhood, while food pantries (such as DMARC) allows families up to three visits every 30 days. “Having a little free pantry located within walking distance could help fill the gap between SNAP assistance and DMARC pantry visits.” (source)

What can we do at Plymouth, to help fill the Free Little Pantries, in our neighborhoods?
Plymouth’s 2x2x2 Challenge: The Plymouth Food Pantry Committee is proposing that our church community take up a challenge, to restock two Drake area pantries with two items for the next two months. We are proposing to support the Little Free Pantries, near the Drake area, located at the Sprout Garden (30th and Carpenter) and Community Youth Concepts (1446 MLK), keeping them stocked with individually wrapped granola/snack bars and individually wrapped jerky for the next few months.

We would like to emphasize that this is an experiment! The Food Pantry Committee will stock and monitor the pantries, in order to learn how often they are being used and how often they need to be restocked.

Bring your items to the specially marked Little Food Pantry bin located next to the DMARC bins (near the south elevator and the Welcome Center desk)

Please note: the Little Food Pantries do not replace, but complement, the existing DMARC Food Pantries. Questions? Please contact Maggie Tillman.