By Charlotte Murphy, IU Corps Intern

Pantry 279 is a permanent food pantry that was built by ten Girl Scouts from Troop 69-279 in 2015. Based out of Ellettsville, IN, the pantry serves over 1,800 families a month. The girls started the pantry for those in need from their community and the surrounding areas. What was meant to be a small pantry grew uncommonly fast.

Cindy Chavez, the mother of one of the founding Girl Scouts, now predominantly runs the pantry. Chavez explained how the pantry has grown and about their different services.

“Originally, our plan was to hit neighborhoods with flyers for food donations, but after two weeks, the girls realized they’d need more food,” Chavez said. “They used their Girl Scout cookie money to buy food and finally went to Hoosier Hills and got more resources. Within the first month, we served 607 people. By May of the first year, we had our first over-250-person day. We were serving 3,500 people a month before COVID hit. Then they doubled overnight.”

Chavez never expected the growth of the pantry to be like what they experienced.

“We are expanding our community services and now provide education about food needs and food insecurity,” she said. “We provide a place where people, families, and community groups can learn and do a wonderful, hands-on community service that really makes a difference. But mostly we provide very needed food once a week for families or individuals in need in southern Indiana.”

The pantry is open five days a week and offers a wide range of products and services that other food pantries don’t.

“A lot of food pantries don’t take some of the stuff we take. We take vitamins, herbals, OTC medications, and CBD. Dentists come in and give sample toothbrushes and toothpastes. A local organization called For the Girls collects female products for us too. On Thursdays we have clothing,” Chavez said.

Chavez is just being modest when she says they have clothes on Thursdays. Pantry 279 closes their food pantry completely and brings out all the clothes they have stored. Overnight, they transform from a food pantry to a clothing closet and then back again to a food pantry for their next business day. The other programs that Pantry 279 provides are a community garden for fresh produce, a Children’s Summer Supplemental Food Program, a Thanksgiving box meal program, and the very popular and loved Elf Dispatch.

“Our Christmas children’s program includes teenagers. We’re the only ones that take teens. Teenagers are the most at risk, I think. They’re old enough to remember and understand problems mom and dad are having but young enough to internalize it,” Chavez said.

Elf Dispatch is a unique holiday program for Pantry 279.

“The first year we had 39 kids we helped for Elf Dispatch. Last year we had 2,300 children that we helped,” Chavez said. “We always tell people to have fun with it. Make it a day. Go to lunch, go shopping, have a wrapping party at home, drink hot chocolate, and watch holiday movies.”

Another program at Pantry 279 is the Thanksgiving box meal program, which came about coincidentally.

“During our first year, people kept asking if Pantry 279 would make Thanksgiving boxes,” Chavez said. “I got on Facebook and said, “If you guys can get us 800 of these traditional Thanksgiving food items, then we’ll box it up and give it out.” The next morning, half of that stuff was bought. People started handing us money and food for the boxes. We served 907 families during our first year for Thanksgiving. The next year we served 1,400 families. Now, we are the Thanksgiving box people and this year we distributed 2,711 Thanksgiving meal boxes, which fed 20,374 people.”

The only other extra program Pantry 279 has is their summer food program. Felicia Nunn is another volunteer at Pantry 279 who ran the summer food program this past summer.

“Our kid food program is to help ease the stress of trying to feed your children that low-income and medium-income families experience in the summer. They are saving $75–$100 per child with what we hand out,” Nunn said. “We hand out fresh fruit, peanut butter, jelly, mac and cheese, canned ravioli—anything we can purchase to make it feasible and kid-friendly. Cereal and Pop-Tarts too. It must be something a child can prepare on their own if need be. We give them 6–7 days worth. To make it fun, we also give them freezer pops.”

Overall, Pantry 279 is trying to destigmatize food pantries and have a bit of fun in the process.

“We have a lot of fun,” Chavez said. “I wanted to not be institutionalized. With food pantries, there is a loss of dignity, embarrassments, and negative emotions that people go through when coming to food pantries. We don’t ask for proof [of need] or an explanation because it’s embarrassing. Who wants to do that? You’re taking a step down to ask for food anyways. We don’t want this to be an institutionalized dread. They’re stressed out enough. If you’re here for food, you’re stressed.”

If you’re interested in volunteering or contributing to Pantry 279, Chavez explained what is most important.

“Donate, donate, donate,” she said. “Money is the hardest to get but the most needed. We get deep discounts at stores that most people can’t get at the stores. If you feel you need to buy anything, canned or jarred protein is so important like tuna or ramen.”

To support or volunteer with Pantry 279, visit their website.