Little Free Pantry Concept, Born on a Run, Goes Viral - Runner's World

Little Free Pantry Concept, Born on a Run, Goes Viral - Runner's World

“Your mind kind of drifts where it will on your runs, and I really started to think about the fact that [the Little Free Library] concept really spoke to people,” McClard told Runner’s World by phone. “I started to think about why that was and whether or not that same concept could address another quality of life issue.”

And that’s how the Little Free Pantry was born. It follows principles similar to that of the Little Free Library, but instead of providing books, it houses food. Those who have food to spare can leave it, and those in need can take it. McClard said she hopes that the concept will raise awareness of food insecurity in a wide range of communities, and it is especially helpful in her hometown where poverty continues to be a big issue.

McClard first had the idea for the Little Free Pantry in the spring of 2015. She used a $250 micro grant from Thrivent Financial, her employer where McClard works as a financial associate, to buy the materials for the pantry’s structure. She designed it, and her husband and some friends helped build it.

In May, the first Little Free Pantry made its debut outside Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. The pilot site has been widely used after word spread, to the point that the story has gone viral.

While McClard is busy fielding calls from people interested in creating their own Little Free Pantries, she still finds time to run about five days a week.

“I find that for me, running is my therapy, more of a spiritual practice. That’s how I use it,” McClard said. “I actually do go to church, but [running] feels like worship to me, just being out in nature. It’s definitely how I get clarity on a lot of things in my life, including this.”

McClard said she’s been blown away by the response the Little Free Pantry has gotten, but she sees why it resonates with others.

“People are extremely busy and may not feel like they have a lot of time or money to donate to service organizations," McClard said. “I think part of the response to this is that it seems so easy—it’s such an easy way to serve.”

People can use the idea in whatever way makes the most sense in their communities, McClard said, and on her website she provides answers to frequently asked questions for those interested in setting up their own Little Free Pantries.

Though it’s hard to track, she knows of about 50 Little Free Pantries that have started since she shared her idea. Earlier this week she learned of new Little Free Pantries in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New Zealand.

Little Free Pantries won’t replace the work of food pantries, which serve a more pervasive need, but McClard envisions people using it when they’re temporarily in a tight spot. And the upside to a Little Free Pantry is that it’s accessible 24 hours a day.

McClard checks on the pilot site of the Little Free Pantry daily—unfortunately it’s not on her running route—and says it’s often empty. She said that would only be concerning to her if food wasn’t going in the box, but she knows it is. Items left in the Little Free Pantry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church tend to only last about 30 minutes or fewer.

“I feel really grateful that this is something I’m able to be a part of…I don’t feel like it’s my idea,” McClard said. “I kind of feel like it belongs to all of us who are not only duplicating this concept or participating in an actual site by stocking it. It’s just a part of this bigger work of addressing what is an extremely big problem in our country.”