Setting the table for change

When Briana became a single mom, working nights and struggling to pay her bills, she found renewed strength from her love of cooking. She also found a connection at the Share Food Share Love food pantry. The pantry offers a familiar grocery store environment. A place where visitors can choose the food they need, while engaging socially with pantry volunteers, and where conversations often turn to recipe sharing and a shared love of food. “This is like a pantry I’ve never seen before,” Briana says. “It just builds relationships. It feels like home. I can make up different types of meals, healthy meals with fresh produce. It’s given me that peace and comfort.” A new section of the pantry, called The Spice Rack, reinforces this connection with visitors. Here, visitors are offered a wide selection of spices and spice mixes, and a growing set of take-home printed recipe cards based on pantry inventories. The Spice Rack encourages nutritional meal planning without the usual diet-le