My Little Food Pantry by Nathan

My Little Food Pantry by Nathan - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

I have made many impacts on my community but none bigger than the free food pantry I built and stock. In the depths of the Covid shutdowns many people were struggling to manage their money as work for people had become limited or totally unavailable. I realized a big benefit for these people would be free access to food as that would eliminate the cost of a big necessity for people and help them pay for their other necessities. I decided that a small free food pantry would be a great solution to this problem, and so in October of 2020 I constructed the food pantry and installed it at my family's church with the church's support. At the start the pantry saw limited usage as people were still spending most of their time in their homes and were not even aware of the existence of my new food pantry. Slowly but surely the usage rate grew and more people were becoming aware of it. I was going to the pantry two or three times a week during the pandemic to ensure that there was food for any people who would want to use it.

Fast forward to today and it has been over three years since the pantry was installed and I have made countless trips to stock the pantry. It is to the point where I go to stock the pantry almost every single day to ensure there is food. As well as obtaining financial support from the church to help purchase more food for the pantry users. From our own donations and help from generous people and my church we have been able to purchase. With the help of the church and other generous people we have been able to help feed so many people in need in the community. My hope is that the pantry will continue to be a great tool for people struggling to get food and relieve their food insecurity.