The Ohio Association of Food Banks estimates that 15% of people in Hamilton County experience food insecurity. Two WeTHRIVE!℠ communities are making it easier for residents to access food when they need it – and donate food when they can.
Golf Manor recently installed its second Little Free Pantry. Forest Park has two Blessing Boxes.
Different names, but the same idea! These are small, publicly accessible boxes or cabinets stocked with non-perishable food and other items. They’re open 24/7 to anyone. No eligibility requirements, no questions asked.
Little Free Pantries and Blessing Boxes are guided by a simple philosophy: Take what you need, leave what you can.
Little Free Pantries fill a need in Golf Manor
Golf Manor does not have a grocery store. “You have to go maybe 10 or 15 minutes away, and that’s a lot for older people and those that don’t have a car,” explains Gwen Chesser, WeTHRIVE! neighborhood navigator and Golf Manor councilmember.
Gwen and the rest of the Golf Manor WeTHRIVE! team wanted to make food available right in their community. They liked the idea of a Little Free Pantry and neighbors helping neighbors.
It began in May 2025 with Golf Manor Village Council adopting a policy that allowed for Little Free Pantries on village property. The team applied for and received grant funding to purchase the building materials needed to construct the boxes.
Golf Manor resident Dani Lape volunteered to build the Little Free Pantry boxes. She led the project with assistance from Gwen, Brittney Kriemer, Pat Lalesnel, Melody Mayle, and Phyllis Thomas.
Choosing the right location
Golf Manor’s first Little Free Pantry opened in November 2025. It’s located next to Tiffany’s Beauty Studio on Losantiville Avenue in Golf Manor. Gwen says they chose this location because it’s easy to access. Tiffany’s parking lot is lighted and it’s near a bus stop.
“You need to put it in a spot where it’s easy for cars to pull over,” Gwen advises. “And make sure it’s visible, that people will see that it’s there.” People can also drop off items at Tiffany’s if the box is full but they want to donate.
The second Little Free Pantry went up in April 2026 at a bus stop on Losantiville Avenue. “It’s right at the edge of Golf Manor before you get to Roselawn,” Gwen says. “So we have one at the beginning of Golf Manor and one at the end.”
Gwen (pictured at right) and fellow WeTHRIVE! navigator Pat Lalesnel check on the Little Free Pantries at least weekly. “It mostly stays full,” she reports. “It’s a mix of people using it. It’s never gone empty and residents are putting stuff in it.”
Guiding healthy food donations
To encourage the donation of nutritious food items, the Golf Manor WeTHRIVE! team distributed a food pantry donation guide throughout the community. Copies of the guide are also available at the Little Food Pantries.
“We’re just letting people know what’s appropriate to put in the boxes,” Gwen explains. “Things like whole grains and no-sugar canned fruits…powdered milk and boxed milk, rice and dried or canned beans, tuna, cereal, and hot cereal.”
Ensuring sustainability
Gwen and Pat frequently add items to the Little Free Pantries. So do many village council members and committee members. Anonymous residents also make donations.
However, the team is currently exploring ways to make sure the Little Free Pantries remain fully stocked in the long run. “Right now, we’re trying to hook up with The Caring Place to see if they can deliver, so we’re sure to have food and it can be sustainable,” Gwen says. “But right now, there’s no problem, which is good.”
Forest Park’s Blessing Boxes
The first Blessing Box was installed in February 2022 at the Forest Park Fire Department on West Kemper Road. (You can read about it in Forest Park gets a new Blessing Box).
Back then, Forest Park WeTHRIVE! team member Jermaine Hill explained why the team spent a year working with other groups and organizations to make the Blessing Box a reality:
“We want to remove all the barriers that keep people from asking for help. Having the Blessing Box allows people to come and go, to grab food as they wish. It also gives residents that chance to donate and give.”
A true team effort
The idea to put up a Blessing Box was brought to the Forest Park WeTHRIVE! team by Cobalt Queenz, a service-oriented sister circle of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. Employees at Home Depot in Forest Park volunteered to build it. The collaboration also included Winton Woods City Schools (a WeTHRIVE! school district), the city of Forest Park, and the Forest Park Fire Department.
Jermaine says the Cobalt Queenz continue to maintain the Blessing Box at the fire department. A second Blessing Box was built by an Eagle Scout in 2023. It’s located at Quinn Chapel on Southland Road in Forest Park. The Quinn congregation keeps it stocked.
“Although they’ve been in place for several years, the community response has been amazing and consistent,” Jermaine reports. “The boxes are used frequently by our residents, some needing assistance and others filling a need with donations.”
Tips for starting a Little Free Pantry or Blessing Box
There is an official Little Free Pantry movement and their website has free resources on building, promoting, and stocking the boxes.
Keys to success include:
- Choosing the right location. Make sure it’s accessible, visible, and safe.
- Finding volunteers to build the boxes. The local Home Depot and an Eagle Scout built Forest Park’s Blessing Boxes. A Golf Manor resident built the Little Free Pantries.
- Checking local guidelines and policies. Golf Manor’s village council passed a policy to allow resident-run Little Free Pantries.
- Keeping sustainability in mind. In Forest Park, Quinn Chapel and Cobalt Queenz take responsibility for upkeep and donations.
- Encouraging and stocking nutritious, shelf-stable items. Golf Manor uses the Food Pantry Donation Guide.
- Respecting the process. You have to trust that people will take what they need and give when they can.
Make a difference in your community
Gwen encourages other communities to install Little Free Pantries. “If they’re thinking about it, I say go ahead and do it. It helps the community. There’s people that don’t want to ask for help, and they’ll be able to go to the pantry and get what they need. No one’s going hungry.”
She also points out that you can build and install the pantries, but you can’t judge or choose who uses them. Even if you see someone take everything in the box, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.
While Little Free Pantries and Blessing Boxes won’t solve the issue of food insecurity in Hamilton County, they do make a difference. Jermaine says, “It’s great to see the community able to rely on each other. That’s what it’s all about.”
More Little Free Pantries are coming soon to other WeTHRIVE! communities, including Cheviot, Elmwood Place, and North College Hill. Follow WeTHRIVE! on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop!
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