How long was The Little Free Pantry open?
Three years! We ran it from 2020-2023 during the pandemic.
Since it was outside and open 24 hours a day, we were able to fill the gaps in the food system. It was a place people could go to get food when the 2 local food banks in Berkeley were closed.
We made this so we could provide a way to get food to our neighbors in Berkeley and Oakland who were struggling with food insecurity.
Who used it?
Seniors on a fixed income, single moms & dads, nannies pushing strollers, day laborers, high school kids, people in between jobs, people who are living in their cars and folks who were experiencing homelessness. Lots of people came by bike. We would see the same people come in their cars and vans. It became a destination and a reliable source of food.
We rescued tons of food!
The food pantry prevented a ton of food waste. Much of the food we provided from ACME or Berkeley Food Network was donated from Berkeley Bowl, or Trader Joe's or Sprouts and it had expired; but it was still good!
Read about how expiration dates are really about the manufacturer wanting to sell more food >
By providing free food we were actively helping lots of people in our neighborhood -- and soon people started to drive in from Albany and Oakland. We received many thank you notes that people left inside the pantry.
Who ran it?
It was a collaboration between a couple that lives on Rose St. Veronica (me) and Henry. We are both designers and our design companies are Van Gogh Design and ecomodern design studio. Our neighbors Kai and Stella helped us out by picking up the bread at ACME and bagging it up on bread day. Kai would take care of the pantry when we were away and stock it! It takes a village :)
Design Matters, Presentation Matters
As designers, we both believe that when something is thoughtfully maintained, and when the presentation looks and feels cared for, it makes a huge difference. Food left on the ground (no matter how good or delicious it is) is immediately perceived as suspicious and not safe to eat.
Location SO MattersThe location was somewhat private but accessible. It wasn’t in front of someone’s house, but in front of a thick hedge, so when people chose what they needed, they could do so without being watched. We feel that one of the reasons it worked so well for such a long time was because you could get food donations in a shame-free way.
This really was an experiment to see how the gift economy works. It's not perfect, but it does work if you have enough volunteers keeping on top of the cleaning and stocking. The amount of work that it took to run is a big reason why we stopped doing it. We needed a team of people who were committed and it's better to start it with a group from the get-go.
We chose that spot very intentionally to give people some privacy while they were making their choices of what to take. I highly doubt it would have been used as much if it were in a spot closer to windows and places where people might feel watched/seen/ashamed. I know from working in food banks for years that some people feel pretty bad when they need the support of a food bank, but honestly it's not a rock bottom moment. How many times have you been doing your shopping at the grocery store and when the cashier tells you how much it is... it's usually kind of shocking, right?!! If you're going to start a food pantry, DO IT!! DO IT!!! It makes a huge difference in people's lives.
When people are given a chance to share and support others who may be struggling, they will step up. Sooooo many of our neighbors contributed to it every day. People would pull up in cars and drop off bags of groceries from Costco and TARGET.
It was proof in the inherent good of humanity, which let's face it... we all need more of that these days!!!
Thank you to Haiden, Grace Wong, Becca, Alex, Max, Kai Mitchell, Stephanie and Aaron, Stella, Berkeley Food Network, Berkeley Food Pantry, Oaktown Spice Shop, Musically Fed, STARTER bakery and Berkeley Free Clinic for donating massive amounts of valuable food and hygiene supplies!!!
