The Rye Home United Methodist Church Little Pantry Box is in its third year of operation and staying busier than ever before.
Organizer Deb Smith said, “During the heart of COVID, the church had so many mission projects that had to be pushed aside. We were meeting in the parking lot so we couldn’t do a lot of our normal projects. A lot of people were losing jobs and struggling and we wanted to be able to help the community. We came up with the idea of a “Little Pantry Box” to help provide food.
There are two of the little pantry boxes in Colorado City, so they decided to create one in the Rye area. Ed Sutcliffe dug the post hole in the church parking lot and set the post in cement. Deb Smith built the box, using the ones in Colorado City as patterns.
Smith said the idea took off right away. Church members filled the box with canned goods, pasta, and other non-perishable goods and spread the word that the box was there to help everyone. Users did not have to be church members; anyone was able to donate and anyone was able to take from the little pantry.
Now working toward three years in operation, the little pantry is a community favorite. Smith shared, “Some may take from it at certain times of the month but then help stock it at other times. With rising food and gas prices, use is up a little. We get a wide variety of products: always canned goods and pasta, a lot of times diapers and toothpaste. We try to keep it stocked so that someone could create a meal from it if they needed to.”
The little pantry is available for people just passing through, as well as local residents. It seems a lot of people passing through the valley contact the churches for assistance, and the pastor’s discretionary fund can only go so far. By being able to offer the families food from the pantry box, help can be offered in other ways as well.
The little pantry box is located in the parking lot of the Rye Home United Methodist Church, near the big pine tree. It is accessible 24/7 to provide that little extra for those in need.