The Journey of the Little Free Pantry

It’s about time for an update on the Little Free Pantry Project.  In the just over 2 months we’ve been doing it, we’ve gone from a table in the front yard to a permanent home for the pantry. 

We’ve also gone from having only items that came out of our personal pantry to receiving donations from nearby neighbors.  We’ve had people leave $1.00 or 50 cents and even had a check show up in the mail!

It’s been a journey for me.  I never expected to see money show up in the pantry or the mail.    Nor did I expect that our act of kindness would spark other people’s generosity.  These are unexpectedly beautiful ripple effects.  I’m trying to amplify the ripple effects by adding “Smile Cards” to the pantry and encourage those benefitting form the Pantry to pay the act of kindness forward in some way. 

The Smile Cards aren’t my idea, they’re a longstanding tradition of Service Space, an organization that has deeply influenced me over the last several years.  More info about Service Space is available here https://www.servicespace.org/  If you love the Smile Cards, you can download them here https://www.kindspring.org/smilecards/?op=download

I read an article by Rachel Naomi Remen today about the difference between helping, fixing, and serving that will shape my Being and Doing related to the Pantry.  The article, available here https://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=940 sparked the awareness in me that approaching the Pantry from a space of “helping” creates an unequal relationship between the helper and the recipient.  The following quote struck me and I’m trying to hold this, “The wholeness in us serves the wholeness in others and the wholeness in life. The wholeness in you is the same as the wholeness in me. Service is a relationship between equals.”

So, the Pantry has become a service project and it’s about more than my husband and I putting food out for hungry neighbors.  It’s about engaging with our community to serve our community and it’s teaching me something new every day. 

I’m curious how you’re serving in these times and what you’re learning from your service. 

With Love and Hope,

Colleen