In 2016, an Arkansas woman put one wooden pantry outside a church with food and toiletries; within three months the idea had gone global, and the movement now maps 2,301 mini pantries
The idea soon travelled beyond Fayetteville and Arkansas, developing into networks of mini pantries in communities across the United States and elsewhere. Some local networks began maintaining their own maps, including the Lowcountry Blessing Box Project and Pātaka Kai Open Street Pantries. Sometimes an idea for helping people does not begin with a foundation, a…