Foundation Reflects on Little Free Pantry Program
posted on Monday, July 20, 2020
While we love posting pics of our people, perhaps the most beautiful photographs of 2019 were of the Riceville Little Free Pantry project from the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation. With artwork from Ray “Bubba” Sorenson, who is the artist behind the The Freedom Rock 99-county tour, the Riceville Little Free Pantry is a vibrant pop of color next to the Riceville City Library.
As part of our look back to the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation successes from 2019, the Little Free Pantry deserves a small – but mighty – mention. In October, we had a rainy unveiling of our pilot pantry in Riceville. After being built by Phil Jass, who is a woodworker and craftsman from Alden, the pantry headed to Bubba for his special touch. For the Riceville Little Free Pantry, he included the Riceville welcome sign and water tower along with farm scenes and a depiction of Haul Out Hunger deliveries.
The Riceville Little Free Pantry is looked after by Aaron and Mary, two farm managers that live nearby. Since October, they have restocked the pantry numerous times with non-perishable food, snacks, and seasonal items for children. The pilot project went so well, that we are installing a bunch more this year (which we are sure you have seen on our Facebook feed).
What’s perhaps the most exciting about the project is the local excitement. Riceville is such a giving community, that any seed planted there seems to grow bigger than anyone imagined. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, an anonymous donor made a substantial delivery to Mary and Aaron to use when restocking the pantry.
Thanks to the community of Riceville to make the Little Free Pantry project pilot a success. And a huge thank you to the mystery person for the generous donation!
And a huge thank you to the mystery person for the generous donation!
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