From Food to Flourishing – Pantry Plus and Pantry Kitchen (Part Two by Erin Dalton)

In Part One, I shared how SPECO’s pantry program began by meeting people where they were. Now, I want to share how those first steps blossomed into Pantry Plus and Pantry Kitchen, expanding both the vision and the impact of our work.

And so the SPECO Emergency Food Bag program was. It continued to ebb and flow. Harmony House stopped by every week and by request. I built relationships with a few people that I would deliver to porches or meet in a public place. People knew when to stop at outreach offices or to look for my car. It was running smoothly, we were distributing 10-15 bags per month, we were finding our groove with donations, and what people wanted to eat. I started including recipes or instructions as we were getting donations for things like dried beans and lentils, and we knew people didn’t know quite what to do with them. The people who wanted to learn to cook more got excited about getting food inspiration. Many of these people had a working kitchen for the first time in a while. Food and cooking have always been such a joy in my own life, and it was incredibly fulfilling for me to be able to offer that gift to someone else.

Around this same time, I started getting requests for shampoo or soap. For years, SPECO has distributed hygiene kits to people living unsheltered, and most of the personal products we had were trial-size or meant for just a couple of uses, but we were starting to work with more people who had apartments. While we continued to support the unhoused, how could our efforts be tweaked to better support people in staying housed? I started to ask for donations to purchase full-size hygiene products and some cleaning supplies. I spoke with friends, and they started picking up extra items when running errands. I watched a movie about some women who went to prison for couponing fraud, and made some jokes about using extreme couponing to fund the pantry expansion, and a friend ran with it. (Disclaimer: No illegal measures have been taken to fund the pantry.)

In January of 2025, Pantry Plus was born, and I was able to start asking people texting for food if they needed any hygiene or cleaning items. I knew the need was there, but I had underestimated how great it was, especially with cleaning products. We’ve had clients who were able to stay in their apartments because they had access to free cleaning products when they couldn’t afford them. That feels really powerful.

In July of 2025, SPECO started the Pantry Kitchen program, which includes a recipe card with a QR code that directs to a cooking tutorial video as well as all ingredients needed to make the recipe. With these bags, we also provide vouchers to the Central City Farmers’ Market. These recipes are geared towards basic cooking using basic equipment and ingredients that are shelf-stable, affordable, and often found in food pantries. Clients have been very excited to receive these bags.

While I get the distinct pleasure of being on the front lines with clients in the pantry programs I must recognize Shannon, Jenn, Sequoia, Carrie, United Way of the River Cities, the Pallottine Foundation, Pip, Angela, Brittany, Full Circle Gifts and Goods, Cicada Books, Tulsi at The Market, and anyone else that listened and said yes when I asked, “What if we did this instead?”, anyone that collected food, donated products, or shared the news of what we were doing. I thank in advance anyone who wants to be part of this in the future because we continue to need all the help we can get. Most of all, I thank every person who leaned into their vulnerability enough to text and say, “I need something to eat.”