Maybe you have noticed the little white box in the courtyard at St. Francis, outside the Church and in the Columbarium. On one side it says, “Take what you need; leave what you can,” and on the other, “St. Francis of Assisi Raleigh.” Looking inside, you see canned goods and some dry goods, perhaps a snack pack of fruit cocktail. That ‘Little Pantry,’ and many like it scattered mainly outside Churches, many with associated schools, and large food pantries around the Triangle, was the project of Jillian Hines, a former student at The Franciscan School, who used it to complete her Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest Girl Scout award for middle schoolers. The idea has taken off!
When asked about the project, Jillian says, “I noticed that there were a lot of ‘Little Free Libraries,’ but they didn’t have many pantries for food and foodstuffs. So I thought we should have a ‘Little Free Food Pantry.’ I’ve seen a few of them around, so I’m not the ‘OG creator,’ but we have put out nine of them so far.” She says her dad and grandpa help build and install them around the Triangle. She even has a small one out in front of her house! She has put out a whiteboard and marker so people can write down what they would like to see in the pantry.
“The one in front (of her house) is always running out of food,” says Jillian. “I’ve talked to them before about what food they want, and they can write it on the whiteboard, but they also really don’t know because they’ve never had enough money to be able to go and buy different things and try them.” She keeps Ramen noodles, prepared ‘mac-n-cheese’, and cans with pop tops. “The cans need to have pop tops,” says her Grandfather, Scott Pias, “because the people who need the food often don’t have can openers.” The important thing is how the community where the boxes are installed comes together to support the box and even to expand services.
On her Free Food Pantry website, she details her work with Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on Hillsborough Street in downtown Raleigh, her first ‘build’ when she started. When they went to restock the pantry, they often talked with the unhoused community who use it. They heard that a water fountain would be nice so people could have something to drink. Good Shepherd Episcopal had done fundraisers to support this pantry, which is near a hot meal distribution site called Shepherd’s Table. So after raising money to stock the food pantry, they also raised funds to build a water fountain next to the Little Free Food Pantry.
That has become the model for the Little Free Food Pantry as they have been installed. Jillian does the initial 1-2 ‘stockings’ of the pantry, but afterward the community adopts them. The organization, usually Churches or larger food distribution sites, will take over stocking the pantries. “The philosophy of these pantries, the way they work, is that they become community-supported,” adds Scott, Jillian’s grandfather. “It’s like a mustard seed,” he says, “once you help meet a need, it just grows and grows to meet more.”
Scott and Jillian’s father, Ian Hines, who do the carpentry and installation, could always use extra hands because plans are already in place to expand. The pantries they have installed span from Franklinton, in Franklin County but close to her home in Wake County, to Fuquay-Varina, but they are moving outside Wake County too. They plan to install one in Burlington at a faith community in Alamance/Guilford Counties and another at a school in Jacksonville, NC, in Onslow County. So Jillian is covering 5 counties in her area, with each location supporting those in need, and her efforts are not unnoticed.
Jillian is humble when discussing her accomplishments, but she is being recognized for her philanthropic work outside of the Girl Scouts. The Flood Group, an organization whose mission is to empower youth through programs that enhance engagement and academic achievement, recognized Jillian. For her community service and the Little Free Food Pantry initiative, she received a Youth Empowerment Award. Jillian’s vision for the future includes expanding her network even further, and she hopes other Girl Scouts will take inspiration from her model.
While she recognizes that other Scouts can’t adopt her project directly, saying, “I don’t think they’d be able to replicate my food pantry because you’re supposed to create something on your own,” she is optimistic it could motivate others to start their own initiatives. Her effort is personal to Jillian; she wants to help those in need. Her impact was embodied by an experience she had after Church recently: “I went over after church to look at the pantry we had recently installed at St. Francis, and a woman was asking for food. We brought her over to the pantry, and we explained how it worked, and she was very thankful.”
Often, people become discouraged by the scope of need in communities for the basics; so many have so little. Jillian’s experience shows the huge impact we can have by helping those in need locally. Making a difference doesn’t need to be expansive; it can start with a few cans of food you place into a Little Food Pantry! For more information, check out Jillian’s Free Food Pantry website.
