People’s Pop-Up Pantry has been running a food bank outside the Garfield Community Center every Tuesday for two and a half years. 40 to 50 families are served each week, most of whom are regulars who have gotten to know each other and the volunteers who run the bank, creating a sense of community that most food banks may not have. “There are clearly lots of other people in our community who [both] needed food and who wanted to be part of something,” Sarah Kent, one of the organizers of the food bank said. Many of the customers show up early so they can catch up before the pantry opens. The pantry uses a ticket system, so that they can hold their places without standing in a long line.
The Pantry is supported by the Rainier Valley, St. Mary’s, and Byrd Barr food banks, as well as businesses like McDonald’s and Trader Joe’s. Some supporters are contracted to provide certain amounts of food every week, but most give food that is leftover or would otherwise go to waste. “Part of it is building community and feeding our community, but then also part of it is keeping food from being wasted,” Kent said.
The Pop-Up Pantry is also an opportunity for students looking to complete their required 60 service hours. Set up begins at 12:30 pm and packing up finishes at 3 pm, so outside of summer it can be difficult for high schoolers to participate. However, the timing can work for students who are in Nova or Running Start, or have early release at Garfield. Anyone interested in volunteering can text Sarah Kent at (206)-669-5749. “It’s a way to see a ton of different people from different places, who speak so many different languages.” Garfield sophomore Willow Kent said. “I don’t get a lot of that because my neighborhood has been pretty gentrified over the past few years.”
The People’s Pop-Up Pantry has previously operated at other locations, but their current setup came as a result of the pandemic. In 2020, Sarah Kent noticed that other parents and families were struggling in the pandemic, and wanted to step up her community involvement to help. “I’ve worked in food justice stuff in one way or another in my whole life, mostly as a volunteer,” Kent said. Working with another parent, she found support from local food organizations to start a COVID safe food pantry at Madrona Elementary. When the pantry lost access to the Madrona building in 2021, she switched to operating the pantry in front of her house. She realized that the neighborhood needed a larger community food pantry, to serve people beyond the Madrona community. Standing in line with the same people every week was a way to fight the isolation of the pandemic. She connected with Monica Jones, who had founded the People’s Pop-Up Pantry, and they opened a new location at 23rd and Cherry in February 2022.
Since then they’ve seen great success. “It’s really fun and awesome and the people are very welcoming,” Jake Knutsen, a Nova student and volunteer, said. “People are here just to have fun, help out and get to know each other.”
