New Little Free Pantry Opens Thanks To Community Effort
Written and Photographed By Nancy Clover
The Little Free Food Pantry has been blessed, the ribbon has been cut, and the doors are officially OPEN!
And here’s what makes this story so incredible: The entire pantry was DONATED.
The design. The materials. The labor. The supplies. So many people gave their time, talent, materials, and resources to turn an idea into something that will now help feed and support our neighbors.
A huge thank you to Pastor Terron Tuckett and the parishioners of Melrose First Baptist Church for hosting the original pantry, making room for this larger one, and continuing to host the Pantry of Hope free Tuesday food pantry.
Thank you to Jen Parziale and the amazing team of volunteers who keep Melrose’s four community pantries stocked, organized, and cared for throughout the year: Laura Lemmons, Kim Quan, Jenny Rose, Kara Ammon, Maureen Buzby, Angela Patch, Karen Rivera, Jessica Buster, Kristina Gillis, Sarah Hecklaw, Jana Gimenez, and the First Baptist Church team. These are the people quietly working behind the scenes to make sure food is available when a neighbor needs a little help.
The Melrose Historic District Commission for its recommendations and approval.
O’Sullivan Architects for donating the detailed design.
Carlos, Gabriel, and Bill, who generously donated the materials AND the labor to build the pantry and make this vision a reality.
Melrose Glass for donating the special-order tempered glass for the doors.
Larry Bouchie, The Melrose Painter, for painting the inside of the pantry and all the shelves, the doors, and the trim with high-quality, durable paint to help make the pantry look beautiful.
Atlantic Awning for donating marine-grade shelf lining.
Marsha Sullivan, Elaine SanBento Metcalf, Eagle Hill Homes,and everyone who generously offered materials and assistance.
Paul Clover and Jason Chen for lining the shelves.
Tony Colella Landscaping for donating the stone underneath and around the pantry.
And ML Signs for creating the outside signs, which will be coming soon!
We’ll need our community’s help keeping those shelves stocked for neighbors who may need a little extra help putting food on the table or purchasing basic household necessities. The Melrose Lil Pantry Amazon Wish List is available here.
The pantry accepts nonperishable food and household necessities such as soap and detergent. Please do not leave clothing or miscellaneous items, as there are other drop-off locations in our community that can put those donations to good use.
Today we cut a ribbon, but what we really celebrated was something much bigger. We celebrated neighbors helping neighbors. Businesses giving back. Volunteers showing up. A church opening its doors. And a community coming together to make sure that when someone needs a little help, there is a place they can turn.
It really does take a village to build a Little Free Food Pantry — and Melrose certainly showed up! What started as an idea became a true community effort, built piece by piece through kindness, generosity, and neighbors helping neighbors. Melrose, you are the BEST.
Editor's Note: And thank you, Nancy Clover, for leading the charge on upgrading our Little Free Food Pantry to something we can all feel proud of. This could not have happened without you!
