Have you noticed the little blue boxes around campus and the Drake Neighborhood containing food? The Drake Neighborhood Little Free Pantry project began in 2016, with the awarding of a Wellmark Foundation Community Kickstarter grant. Throughout 2017, various LEAD students and classes researched how to make this project a reality, and installed several pantries on Drake’s campus and collaborated with several other groups in the Drake Neighborhood to host a pantry.
The motto of the pantries, modeled after the Little Free Pantry program launched in Fayetteville, Ark., during summer 2016, is “Take what you need, leave what you can.” The pantries rely on community members to stay stocked. Would your student organization, class, unit, department, team, etc., like to adopt a pantry for a week this Spring? Groups can register for a week here. This could be collecting items from your other team members, or collecting monetary donations from them and purchasing goods, and then filling up one or any number of the pantries.
On Drake’s campus, there is a pantry in the Olmsted Parking lot and one near the Sprout Garden on Carpenter and 30th Streets. See a list of all pantries at https://www.facebook.com/DrakeLittlePantries.
Non-perishable goods and hygiene products can be left in the pantries. Produce should only be left if there is an external basket for produce outside of the pantry, such as at the Sprout Garden (used during warmer months). Any homemade goods, unsealed items, or refrigerated products should not be placed in the pantries. Consider prioritizing healthy foods (beans, brown rice, oatmeal, canned tuna, etc.). Also consider the richly-diverse populations that reside in the Drake Neighborhood and think about culturally-inclusive food.
While the Iowa climate can range from below freezing to very hot, it’s been our experience that food does not stay in the pantries long, so extreme temperatures are typically not an issue.
Also remember, the pantries are for everyone! Please feel free to utilize.
Thank you for helping to support the Drake community and Drake Neighborhood with this initiative!
Contact Amanda Martin in community engaged learning at amanda.martin@drake.edu if you have questions about this project.
— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning
