Little Free Food Pantry
The Little Free Food Pantry was dedicated
on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024
There was a balloon artist, face painting
and light snacks for all.
Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation about installing a Free Food Pantry in Glencarlyn. In late spring, Mohammad Dannan proposed that he make the Pantry installation part of his BSA Eagle Project, and Troop 99 has now given their endorsement.
Location and Installation - Labor Day weekend, Dannan and his fellow Scouts set in place a Pantry at the Lexington entry to St John’s parking lot, which was formerly located at the Central Library. Also a BSA Eagle Project, the Pantry served many people at its Library location. When the Library closed it last summer, it was reclaimed by the Gaylord family who had installed and supported it; it has now been refurbished and is ready to go back into service.
How to Contribute Food or Funds - While the site preparation and installation gets underway, we’re ready to stock up on groceries and hoping for community support in that effort.
There is a bin on the 5th Street porch of the church where donations can be left any time. Funds donated by check or through PayPal will be used exclusively to stock and maintain the Pantry.(details below). Throughout September, you can drop by to see the plans, check out our mini-warehouse, and ask how to become part of the Pantry team: We’ll be glad to meet you! Sundays 11 - 12:30 and Mondays 5 - 7 pm. Once the Pantry is dedicated on September 7th, you are welcome to place food in either in the Panty itself or in the supply bin.
Kinds of Supplies - We need non-perishable food: canned and boxed, unexpired items in individual and household sizes. Some Pantry users do not have the ability to cook nor to store food, so ready-to-eat options are needed along with things that need to be cooked. (Cans/Jars of meat, soup, vegetables, fruit, sauces, etc; Boxes/Bags of pasta, beans, cereal, crackers, entree mixes, etc; and Individual-sized wrapped bars, snacks, treats.)
Need in Our Community - While we don’t anticipate this location will draw nearly as many users of the Pantry as its Library location, Glencarlyn has been identified recently as one of several Arlington neighborhoods with increasing numbers of people in need of support. Free Food Pantries operate on a model of good will. Good will expressed through people who have resources to share doing so out of compassion and concern for the whole community. Good will practiced when anyone with need is able to use the Pantry easily; food is available, Pantry is well-maintained, access is safe and easy because there is no barrier of limited hours or required eligibility threshold.
Role of St. John's and Others - This Pantry is a new resource for Glencarlyn. St John’s is glad to house it on our property, to offer space to store donations, and to attend to restocking and maintaining the Pantry in good condition. We are encouraged by the large number of people who worked together to stock and sustain it at its previous location and the support we felt through the community conversations we’ve shared over the last months. We not only welcome, we need!, assistance in this effort to provide help to local families. Please stop by Sunday afternoon or Monday evening this month to learn more, or call 703 671-6834 - we’re eager to work together!
The Rev Julie D Bryant
Making Donations of Funds to Stock the Little Free Food Pantry
Checks should be made out to St. John's and add LFFP in the memo. You can drop them off on the days noted above or mail to St. John's -- 415 S.Lexington St. -- Arlington VA 22204.
Online Contributions - this is the link to make an online contribute to support the Glencarlyn Little Free Food Pantry.
Contributions are being made to a 501 (c)(3) charitible organization so you may be able to deduct on you taxes.
Below is the article which appeared in the March Village View.
A Little Free Food Pantry in Glencarlyn?
St. John’s is considering placing a Little Free Food Pantry (LFFP) on our grounds. A meeting will be held Tuesday, March 12 at 7 pm at St. John’s to discuss the project. Stephanie Hopkins, Arlington's Food Security Coordinator, will join us with a perspective on Arlington food insecurity, including the problem in our area of the county. The meeting is an opportunity for Glencarlyn residents to discuss the project with individuals who had supported the LFFP at Central Library for years. St. John’s wants to have full community input before making a final decision.
Food insecurity affects at least 7.1% of residents in Arlington. This means that over 16,000 of our neighbors are uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all members of their households at some point during a year.
Surprisingly, the “Arlington County Food Security Strategic Plan” (page 4) reports “The highest rates of food insecurity are found in the Glencarlyn neighborhood at 14.6% and Buckingham/Ashton Heights neighborhoods at 14.5%”.
Glencarlyn residents have shown their concern by generously contributing thousands of pounds of food to Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) over the past few years. With the participation of the community, St. John’s Church has heavily supported AFAC through food and monetary donations. Additionally, volunteer parishioners participate monthly in AFAC’s food bagging program.
Little Free Food Pantries are an important resource for those who use them. A very successful one was established on the Central Library grounds in 2020 that had considerable community participation, ensuring the pantry was always stocked with nonperishable food. They made sure that the right types of food were stocked, and generally managed the operation of the pantry.
Unfortunately, the library closed that Little Free Food Pantry in 2023. The original organizers are seeking an alternate location and have asked St. John’s if they would host it.
The food pantry is a 4 X 4 foot box about 18 inches deep that sits atop four posts and is stocked with only non-perishable foods. Individuals in need of some food items can stop by at any time. The signage says “Take what you need, give what you can.”
St. John’s welcomes any thoughts that anyone would like to share. You can send an email to rector@stjohnsarlingtonva.org.
The above will be in the March Glencarlyn newsletter, The Village View.
