By Naaisha Mahajan, Guest Writer
On Sept. 15, 2022, two local Girl Scouts, Naaisha Mahajan and Maritza Becker, installed a Little Free Pantry at Cathy Hudgins Community Center for their Silver Award project. Their goal was to help those in the community who were struggling with food insecurity; their motto, “Take what you need, give what you can,” motivated many to donate to those in need.
The pantry uses a give and take system. Those who are fortunate can donate non-perishable items by leaving them in the pantry for others, making it accessible at any time.
Installing a pantry wasn’t easy. The two Girl Scouts had to find a place to install the pantry, then write a proposal that had to be approved by the Reston Board. They learned to plan and create blueprints with help from the associates at the community center.
Once the approval was received, the girls got help from Michael Hedrick and his company, Denny and Gardner, who volunteered and sponsored the Little Free Pantry. The girls painted the motto and the Girl Scouts logo on it to signify what motivated them for this project. They later installed it at the approved location, which also had a Little Free Library and Little Free Art Gallery adjacent to it.
The pantry has its own Instagram account, @littlefreepantrychcc, where they spread awareness about food insecurity in the community and encourage people to donate to those in need.
Their self-sustaining pantry was a huge success. In the initial stages, they donated every week for a couple of months. In order to gain traction, they began posting on local social media communities. Soon they started noticing food left by others almost every week. Mahajan and Becker were pleased that their endeavor to achieve the Silver Award resulted in a positive impact on the underprivileged population.
For any questions about the pantry feel free to communicate with them at LittleFreePantryCHCC@gmail.com or their Instagram account.
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