Indy Community Pantry expands to meet food demand

Deandrea Rayner addressed food insecurity in Indianapolis by establishing the Indy Community Pantry, which launched in 2020 and has since expanded to include five dry-goods pantries and three community refrigerators throughout the city.

The initiative started with Rayner filling old boxes with food. Still, the demand quickly outpaced the supply, prompting her to expand the project with the help of volunteers and donations.

Rayner said, “It was a lot of people who didn’t have the resources and means to find food because COVID was new, and no one knew what was going on. So, I was like, ‘How can I help?'”

Rayner’s efforts have been supported by

A network of volunteers, who assist with tasks such as donation pickup and stocking the pantries and refrigerators, have supported Rayner’s efforts. “It would not be what it is today without my volunteers.”

The motto of the Indy Community Pantry is simple: Take what you need, leave what you can.

However, keeping the shelves stocked remains a constant challenge due to high demand.

Resident Peter Yazzie, talking about the occasional scarcity of food, said, “Yeah, sometimes we have to look around by ourselves to see if we can find something, and, most of the time, we’ll find something for the time being. But, yes, the refrigerators are empty sometimes.”

Rayner has ambitious plans for the future, including placing a refrigerator in a school and opening a completely free grocery store, but emphasized the need for continued community support and donations to achieve these goals.

The Indy Community Pantry will continue to address food insecurity in Indianapolis, relying on community involvement to sustain and expand its efforts, Rayner said. “That’s why we need the community’s help and why we are so big on donations, because the food goes so fast.”

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