Little Free Pantry Project

Thanks to inspiration from the International Little Free Food Pantry Movement, which began in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2016, and a partnership with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Engage Arkansas was able to implement a statewide initiave for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2023.

One hundred old newspaper dispensers were delivered to communities across the state to upcycle and repurpose into little free food pantries. This project required partners to identify a community leader or group to adopt the food pantry, ensuring it remains stocked for your community members in need. Leaders planned and oversaw events related to the painting and installation of the pantry and hosting the necessary food drive(s) to collect supplies. Community leaders then registered the new pantries in the International Little Free Food Pantry database.

Check out the map of all the LFP's that were installed for MLK Day 2023.

Interested in bringing something similar to your community? Awesome! We created a Little Free Food Pantry Toolkit to help with your project plans. This can easily be adapted into a project for any family, school, office team, or community to implement. If you're in need of a box, Little Free Library has some helpful building guides and blueprints.

Once you install your pantry, be sure to add it to the database. We'd also love to see your photos! Feel free to send those to Engage.AR@adhe.edu.

Explore the Little Free Pantry Toolkit