Every day a member of First Christian Church in Bentonville pulls donated food from the church’s pantry to stock a wooden box set up outside the building. The church’s Little Free Pantry is visible from busy 14th Street, where people walking by can easily see and access the items.

“It’s pretty much emptied every single day,” said Rev. Mark Dingler, the church’s associate minister of youth and justice.

Bentonville is home to dozens of Little Free Pantries, located across the city at various churches, businesses and community organizations. These pantries, set up outside and accessible to anyone at any time, are stocked with free food and personal care items. 

Now worldwide, the Little Free Pantry movement was started in Fayetteville by Jessica McClard in 2016. Inspired by the Little Free Library concept, where community members can exchange and donate books at neighborhood boxes, each “mini pantry” is hosted and managed by a local organization but open to contributions from anyone who wants to help.

“It’s really easy to get involved in,” Dingler said. “It can be as much as just when you go grocery shopping, buy a couple extra things and bring it by and we can help each other out.”

A Community Effort

The mini pantry at First Christian Church was created during the COVID-19 pandemic as a contact-free way to distribute food. Each Sunday a cart is set outside the sanctuary so churchgoers can easily donate items on their way in. 

“We also have some community members that just will come and fill it up that we don’t even know, which is interesting and fun to see,” Dingler said. “I’m not entirely sure how they necessarily know about it, or what their motive is, but I know that they’re wanting to help get people food that need food.”

Stocked items include canned foods such as fruits, vegetables, tuna and chicken, boxed pasta and sauces, or crackers. A second box holds other household and personal care products, such as feminine hygiene products, dishwasher and laundry detergent, and travel-sized soaps and toothpaste.

Items stocked also change depending on the season. In the summer, Dingler said they stock water bottles and electrolyte packs, and during the holidays, they add pie fillings, gravy box kits and other traditional holiday meal items. 

The Little Free Pantry at Genesis Gymnastics Academy is another food-donation effort that was started during the pandemic. 

“We’ve got a lot of families surrounding us, and we had several families that were struggling during that time, and so this was our way to help out within the community,” said owner Stacy Bania. 

Hosting food drives throughout the year, the gymnastics academy will offer discounted rates on admission to its tiny tots open gym or parents’ night out with the donation of items for the pantry. During one food drive, Bania said they requested baby items, such as jar baby food. 

Along with boxed pastas, cereals and canned food, they also try to stock the pantry with toiletries, protein bars, snacks, bread and occasionally fresh fruits and vegetables.

“I think that just being able to help out within the community, that’s the most important thing, that’s what our gym is about,” Bania said.