Alexandria, VA – Neighbors were leaving food in the little free pantry in Del Ray. They were also cleaning it.
Dr. Lauren Fisher, who established the pantry, learned about that second contribution when a neighbor mentioned wiping it out every other day. Other women nearby were helping keep it clean, too.
“I had no idea,” Fisher said.
Fisher, a clinical psychologist and co-owner of Del Ray Psych & Wellness, started the pantry in 2022. As the community emerged from the pandemic, she was hearing from churches and ALIVE! about people struggling to get enough food. She wanted to help.
First, she needed someone to build it.
A request and a response
Fisher put a request on Facebook.
A neighbor connected her with a Girl Scout who had established a pantry at St. Rita’s Catholic Church. The Scout was willing to help again and worked with an organization in Arlington that built and donated the structure.
Fisher visited the young woman’s home to choose paint colors. The pantry was painted and delivered. Its location near a bus stop put it where people were already gathering or passing through. Instructions on the side explained what to donate, with an emphasis on nonperishable food.
At first, Fisher purchased supplies to keep it stocked. Neighbors quickly joined in.
“We noticed very quickly that the neighborhood all jumped in,” she said.
Four years later, she sees people dropping off donations every day. Del Ray Farmhouse is a frequent contributor, she said. Fisher continues buying supplies and checking that what people leave is appropriate.
Keeping up with demand is difficult. She said the pantry could be restocked throughout the day and still need more. Some days, it is empty.
Early on, Fisher wondered whether someone taking a bagful of food would leave enough for others. She reconsidered. People were taking food because they needed it, she said, and she could not judge that need by their appearance.
“You just don’t know,” she said. “You don’t know who is in need.”
She appreciates that visitors feel comfortable taking food and going on their way, as easily as someone else can stop to donate.
Knowing where to go
On his daily dog walks, William Schuyler notices the changing contents of the little free pantry at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Old Town Alexandria.
The church maintains and stocks it, and neighbors contribute. Some bring groceries from the nearby Safeway. Schuyler described neighbors helping with cleanup as well.
He rarely finds the pantry empty, he said, but sees different food in it almost every day.
Schuyler is president of Hunger Free Alexandria and a weekly volunteer with the Open Table breakfast program. People he meets through that work know the little pantry and talk about the food it provides.
He has also heard from people whose work schedules kept them from reaching a larger pantry before it closed. They needed somewhere else to turn.
Little free pantries can help fill that gap, although their supplies vary and cannot meet a household’s full grocery needs.
Hunger Free Alexandria (HFA) gathers and shares information about food assistance throughout the city. It helps community partners identify gaps in access and work together to address them. Individual hosts and volunteers maintain the little pantries; HFA helps people locate them and other sources of food.
“Our work is really about enabling people to access the food that others are giving out,” Schuyler said.
DT Oliver, HFA’s vice president, described using a national directory as the starting point for the little pantry listings. Residents responding to social media posts supplied locations that were missing.
Those contributions expanded the listings and helped flag changes. Locations and availability can change, making updates an ongoing part of the work.
Oliver said one question has guided the work: “What is the right decision here for someone facing hunger in Alexandria?”
That means encouraging providers to work together across their different networks, with the person seeking food as the priority. The website serves both people looking for food and those helping them find it. Little free pantries are listed by neighborhood, alongside grocery distributions and prepared meals.
Oliver also noted a gap in understanding how the pantries are used: collecting data about demand would be difficult without intruding on visitors.
Help beyond the pantry
Harumi Reis-Reilly, City of Alexandria’s food security coordinator, described emergency food bags available through her office for people who arrive hungry. Among those seeking help are people whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been stolen.
The bags address an immediate need. Connecting someone with a more consistent source of food is the next step.
Reis-Reilly sees the little pantries as another place to make that connection.
Hunger Free Alexandria described plans for QR codes at the pantries that would link directly to its food-assistance map. Someone stopping for food could scan a code to find other places to obtain groceries or a prepared meal.
Even when a pantry cannot provide enough food, it could help a visitor find somewhere else to go.
Alexandria’s Food Security Coalition and its partners are also working to identify gaps in service and improve access. Reis-Reilly encouraged residents to consider starting little free pantries in the West End.
For Oliver, the pantries give people a way to contribute even when their schedules do not allow a regular volunteer shift. Leaving food at a little pantry offers flexibility that a scheduled donation drop-off may not.
Fisher, who also serves as president of the Del Ray Business Association, encourages residents interested in starting one to tell their neighbors and choose a visible location when possible. She advises being prepared to purchase supplies, too. Donations help, but someone still needs to check the pantry and keep it clean.
In Del Ray, neighbors had taken on some of that responsibility themselves.
They were, Fisher said, “taking care of it like it’s their own pantry.”
Find food nearby
Hunger Free Alexandria lists little free pantries by neighborhood and provides information about grocery distributions and prepared meals at hungerfreealexandria.com/i-need-assistance.
Five locations in Alexandria are listed in the directory:
Del Ray Pantry — 1702 Mount Vernon Avenue
Charles Houston Recreation Center — 901 Wythe Street
George Washington Pantry — 1301 Mount Vernon Avenue
St. Rita’s Catholic Church — 3704 Mount Vernon Avenue
Yellow Blessing Box — 512 N. Payne Street
Consult the directory for locations and program schedules. Little pantry supplies depend on donations and may be depleted when you arrive.
Help keep a pantry useful
Follow posted donation instructions and ask the pantry’s steward what is needed. Choose unopened, nonperishable food. Consider whether someone can use it without cooking equipment or a can opener.
Regular contributions help replenish supplies. Ask whether the host needs help with cleaning or maintenance, too.
Before starting a pantry, decide who will check it, keep it clean, and purchase supplies when donations run low. Let neighbors know how they can participate.
