6 Ways To Adopt a Little Free Pantry in Chaffee County

Using any food bank is a powerful example of solidarity, not charity. Mutual aid works best when everyone interacts with it, both leaving and taking things.

When the whole community uses the pantry, it becomes easy to walk up and grab what you need without it becoming “a thing.” 

No one should have to say out loud that they’re struggling, and needing food is never a personal failure. Society is what has failed, yet we’ve all been taught to internalize that guilt. 

When everyone treats the pantry as a shared resource, it normalizes getting support and pushes back against that externally imposed shame. 

It’s neighbors caring for neighbors, meeting each other with dignity.

Help us stock the pantry to your greatest ability.

1. Take a photo of the pantry as you pass by. 

2. Send that photo to thrive@chaffeema.com

3. When possible, include a note that answers these questions. 

1. 1. • What is being taken? (What's needed.)

      • What is being left behind? (What isn't needed.)

We will post it on Instagram, @ChaffeeMA so the whole community knows what is available for dinner or what needs to be stocked. 

1. Snacks that are easy to carry or eat on the go for our middle & high schoolers.

2. Cooking basics like vegetable oil, vinegar 

3. Shelf-stable proteins: canned meats, chili, summer sausage

4. Canned fruits and several vegetables

5. Broths and specific soup varieties

6. Dairy alternatives and shelf-stable milks

7. Water bottles and juice boxes

8. Non-food side

   1. • Hygiene items (deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, feminine care)

      • Baby needs (food pouches, wipes)

      • Practical essentials like socks, sanitizer, gloves

Maybe you don't have time but you have space near a local food dessert. 

We can place an LFP on your property and have someone else maintain it. 

If you live near enough to a LFP that you can restock frequently and you have storage space to store food, we can help supply your stash. 

An indoor plastic bin is the kind of storage space we would need.

Are you a wood worker? Or are you just great at repurposing old things? 

• Build our county a new LFP! We will find it a home in a deserving food desert.

• Maintain existing LFPs that look like they need love.