How long was The Little Free Pantry open?

Three years! We ran it from 2020- 2023 during the pandemic.

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This free food pantry was a collaboration between Van Gogh Design and ecomodern design studio. We made it so as a community, we could provide food to our neighbors in Berkeley and Oakland who were struggling with food insecurity.
 

What we learned

As designers, we wanted to create a food pantry that elevated food and treated it with care and respect. We both believe that when something is thoughtfully designed, when the presentation looks and feels cared for, it makes a huge difference. It's about usability, and creating an experience that feels welcoming. 
 

When free food is displayed on clean, organized shelves, it builds trust. You instinctively feel the food is safe.

This was an example of how gift economics can work. What I’ve learned is that when people are given a chance to share and support others who may be struggling, they will step up. Providing a way to get food without shame really works.
 

The location was perfect, private but accessible. It wasn’t in front of someone’s house, but in front of a thick hedge, so when people chose what they needed, they could do so without being watched. That worked well. We feel that one of the reasons is worked so well for such a long time was because you could get food donations in a shame-free way. 

The project prevented a ton of food waste and our neighbors donated food to it most days. The overall messaging was: Take what you need, leave what you can. ​Since it was outside and open 24 hours a day, we were able to fill the gaps in the food system. It was a place people could go to get food when the 2 local food banks in Berkeley were closed. 

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We gave out fresh ACME bread, fresh produce, coffee beans, hygiene supplies and shelf stable food over the years. We recovered and gave away a total of $90,000 USD of free food, ACME bread, free coffee beans, high end organic food, fresh produce and hygiene supplies over three years! Yup! We did the math. 90K is a conservative estimate of what cycled through and went home with people here in Berk and also folks would come from Oakland and Albany sometimes too. Word got out :)  

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Who used it?
Seniors on a fixed income, single moms & dads, nannies pushing strollers, day laborers, high school kids, people in between jobs, people who are living in their cars and folks who are experiencing homelessness. Lots of people came by bike. We would see the same people come in their cars and vans. It became a destination and a reliable source of food.   

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We built trust with the people who used the pantry every day. They knew that all the food there was safe. Anything that was not in good condition was removed. I loved that people would bring food from their gardens, and fruit trees. Keep in mind that we were doing this project during a global pandemic. We worked hard to keep the food pantry in top condition and cleaned it daily. 

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Thank you to Berkeley Food Network, Berkeley Food Pantry, Oaktown Spice Shop, Musically Fed, STARTER bakery and Berkeley Free Clinic for donating a massive amount of valuable food and hygiene supplies over a three year period.​