Community Grocery: Little Free Pantry Feeds the ‘Hood
Little Free Libraries feed the mind, but Seattle’s Little Free Pantry feeds the hungry
By Erica C. Barnett April 10, 2017
This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
Walk through any neighborhood in Seattle and chances are you’ll come across a Little Free Library—one of those dozens of miniature lending libraries (littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap) that invite neighbors to borrow books and leave volumes they no longer want.
Walk through Josh Pearson’s Squire Park neighborhood in the Central District, though, and you may stumble across our city’s first Little Free Pantry—an unassuming white box with a gabled roof and two shelves where neighbors can leave nonperishable food, bottled water and hygiene items for people in need.
Pearson, 32, came across a story about the original Little Free Pantry, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and thought, why not? “We live in such a diverse neighborhood, with so many different people at all income levels living within three blocks of us. It just seemed like something worth trying out.” Pearson says items turn over regularly, with packaged foods, water, deodorant and toothpaste in high demand. Even his youngest neighbors are pitching in. “It says, ‘Take what you want, leave what you can,’ and there’s a little girl down the street who came by one day and wanted the applesauce,” Pearson recalls. “She came back the next day and left some Girl Scout cookies.”
Follow Us
Holiday Hunt in Pioneer Square
A daily ornament drop turns December into a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt.
The holidays tend to bring out the kid in all of us. And if opening presents and eating too many treats weren’t enough, there’s also a scavenger hunt in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. Pioneer Square’s Holiday Ornament Scavenger Hunt has returned for its third year. Twenty-five handblown glass ornaments—all made at Glasshouse Studio—are hidden across 25…
Chit-Chat Kids
Phone a friend.
Twenty years ago, before everyone walked around with a device in their pocket, kids used to call each other on a landline—often tethered to the kitchen in their home. It was a simpler time, when parents didn’t have to worry (nearly as much) about a potential predator contacting their child. Nowadays, things are different, which…
A Plate for Pickleball
The design celebrates the state’s official sport. Additional plates are on the way.
Washington served up a new license plate last week, honoring the state sport of pickleball. In the works for three years, it’s the second of seven specialty plates to hit the market since getting approved by lawmakers earlier this year. “We’re thrilled to see our efforts become reality,” says Kate Van Gent, vice president of…
Seattle-Based Agency Brings Real Voices to NBC’s New Campaign
DNA&STONE built the project around candid conversations to understand what audiences want from reporting.
“I turned off news altogether. I want to be able to form my own opinions. Just tell the truth.” These lines open NBC News’ new national campaign, a 60-second ad that drifts over forests, farms, neighborhoods, and cityscapes while Americans talk about how worn out they feel by the news. The landscape carries the conversation…