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THE LITTLE FREE PANTRY

The Little Free Pantry

St Matthew’s United Methodist Church

14900 Annapolis Rd., Bowie, MD 20715

Give What You Can—Take What You Need

St Matthew’s UMC has a Little Free Pantry (LFP). It is an additional Bowie community resource that provides emergency food and personal hygiene items. The Little Free Pantry is for neighbors helping neighbors.

How you can get involved?

  • Give what you can. Please provide nonperishable, unexpired food and hygiene products that are in unopened, unbreakable containers. If the LFP is full, please put your donation in the outside plastic bin by the Church’s front door (see location diagram below) Thank you!
  • Take what you may need. Please take any items you need, but please leave something for the next person.
  • Spread the word about the Little Free Pantry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Little Free Pantry? 

The Little Free Pantry (LFP) is a small wooden box that sits in St Matthew’s United Methodist Church’s (SMUMC) parking lot and is filled with food and personal hygiene items. It is anonymous, open 24/7, and free for anyone in the community; no questions asked. It is an additional Bowie community resource that provides emergency food and personal hygiene items.

Little Free Pantries are one way to meet the emergency needs of hungry people who are often forced to choose between buying food or paying for shelter, utilities, medication, and transportation.

Where is the Little Free Pantry? 

Address:   

St Matthew’s United Methodist Church

14900 Annapolis Road

Bowie, MD 20715

Email:    lfp@stmatthews-bowie.org

Location:    Left side of SMUMC parking lot entrance off Annapolis Road/Route 450 near visitor parking. SMUMC is located next to Bowie High School.

Who is the Contact for Little Free Pantry at SMUMC?

Please contact lfp@stmatthews-bowie.org with any questions, suggestions or concerns, and to volunteer.

What is the Purpose of the Little Free Pantry?

The Little Free Pantry is for neighbors helping neighbors and encourages community and love for your neighbor. It helps address food insecurity at the neighborhood level. It fills gaps in services provided by organizations with operating hours and/or requiring paperwork/documentation.

For information about the Little Free Pantry grassroot effort in general, see http://www.littlefreepantry.org and https://www.facebook.com/littlefreepantry

Who is the Little Free Pantry for? 

The Little Free Pantry is for those neighbors who want to give, and for neighbors who are not easily able to meet everyday food and personal hygiene needs.

Where Does the Little Free Pantry Stock Come From?

  • Items donated by individuals and groups in the community.
  • LFP shoppers use money donated by individuals in the community.
  • Crescent City Charities, Inc has provided 2 grants (2020 and 2023) to SMUMC to help purchase needed items for the LFP.
  • Giant Food has sponsored three Bloomin’ 4 Good months for the LFP.

How Do I Get Items I Need from the Little Free Pantry?

  • Help yourself anytime to food and hygiene products as you need them.
  • It is free, anonymous, and open 24/7.
  • No sign-up, registration or paperwork required.
  • Contents vary based on current contributions.
  • An individual or family should not rely solely on the Little Free Pantry.
  • Seek community services to meet your needs.

Where Else Can I Get Help?

How Can I Support the Little Free Pantry?

Individuals and groups may provide direct support to The Little Free Pantry project in two ways. Purchase items when grocery shopping and place items in the Little Free Pantry. If the LFP is full, please bring back the items another time or place in LFP bin outside church’s main door. Donations may also be provided to the SMUMC; contact lfp@stmatthews-bowie.org. See “What Items Can I Donate to the Little Free Pantry?” Also, tell your family, friends and community about it through your daily interactions and your social media activities.

What Items Can I Donate to the Little Free Pantry?

  • Please provide nonperishable, unexpired food and hygiene products that are in unopened, unbreakable containers.
  • Please provide foods, such as fruit, vegetables, tuna, chili, soups, peanut butter, and after-school snacks, as well as personal care products, such as shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpastes, toilet paper, shaving cream, feminine products, and lotion. Kid-friendly foods, school supplies, stickers and small toys are a nice treat. Please consider the needs of the current season.
  • Both ready to eat food with easy to open packaging (e.g., pull-top lids, fruit cups or granola bars) and food (such as pasta, dried beans, meal kits, canned fruits and vegetables) that helps an individual or family make meals are needed.
  • Please NO dented, swollen, leaking, expired cans, foods requiring refrigeration, sharp items like razors and knives, chemicals, anything bulky like clothing, cigarettes, alcohol, or anything illegal.
Where can Perishable Food Items be Donated?
  • Perishable items like dairy products, fresh fruit & vegetables, and bakery items can be donated to Bowie Interfaith Pantry.

Does the LFP handle Pet Supplies?

  • Due to our limited space, the LFP cannot accept pet food and supplies. If you need help with pet care or would like to help a pet owner then please contact Bowie CLAW.

I am not able to go Grocery Shopping. Can I Donate Money to the Little Free Pantry?

You can donate money to the SMUMC Little Free Pantry by giving online using a one time gift to Little Free Pantry or sending a check to St Mattthew’s UMC with a designation on the memo line to LFP. Your financial donation will be used to provide variety in the community stocking of the LFP.

Who Monitors the Little Free Pantry?

SMUMC and community volunteers maintain, and monitor contents of the Little Free Pantry.  The pantry will be kept organized and tidy. Non allowed items will be removed (see question What Items Can I Donate to the Little Free Pantry?). Cans will be removed temporarily from the LFP when temperatures are expected to be over 90 degrees Fahrenheit or below freezing.

What Happens to the Non-Allowed Items? Are They Thrown Away?

  • Illegal items will be reported immediately to the Bowie Police Department.
  • Everything else will be thrown away.
  • Items that can be safely donated will be given to an appropriate organization.
  • Please note that donating non-allowed items causes a safety issue for users and more work for volunteers.

How Does the Little Free Pantry Differ from from a Food Pantry?

The Little Free Pantry is small, so it cannot stock the quantity and variety other food pantries can. Contents vary based on current contributions. For this reason, it should not be relied on for meeting an on-going need.

Many food pantries require application before use and have set hours of operation. Anyone may access the Little Free Pantry at any time, no questions asked.

Food pantries operate as service providers, and those who use them are clients. The Little Free Pantry dissolves that professional boundary. Whether stocking or taking stock, everyone approaches the Little Free Pantry the same way.

What is Food Insecurity? What does that look like locally?

The US Department of Agriculture’s definition of Food Insecurity Households is “At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food.”

Per the Capital Area Food Network’s 2023 Hunger Report:

  • 32% of the Washington region, more than 1.2 million people, didn’t always know where their next meal would come from at some point in 2023.
  • 45% of Prince George’s County residents faced food insecurity at some point in 2023.
  • Food insecurity is not uncommon in the middle class due to the capital area’s high cost of living:
      • 67% of the food insecure households earn more than the federal poverty wage.
      • Among households making $120,000 – the median for the region – food insecurity is affecting one in five families.

Food pantries are critical in addressing food insecurity, but some individuals fall through the cracks. The Little Free Pantry is a safety net.

Documents of Interest

Map  to the Little Free  Pantry