After more than a decade in operation, The Little Pantry That Could had its last shopping day on Saturday. Its closure leaves a hole in the city because for North Nashville, it was more than just a free store.
“When Jesus took two loaves of bread and five fish and fed five thousand, Stacy’s doing the same thing for us. It’s a hand up, not a hand out,” said Howard Allen, an advocate for the unhoused, about The Little Pantry That Could’s founder Stacy Downey. “And now all of a sudden, dealing with the real estate market here, the church does not want to renew a lease.”
The pantry was forced to close after its lease on its 24th Avenue home was not renewed. Downey was unable to find another location due to Nashville’s rising real estate prices.
Volunteers loaded in about 15,000 pounds of food for the final 250 shoppers. In between the tears, there’s some celebration on Saturday in the packed waiting room — a celebration of the pantry, Downey and her years of love.
Tasha A.F. Lemley Kenneth Clay helps unload one the last trucks to drop off food at The Little Pantry That Could. An estimated 15,000 pounds of food were delivered in preparation for the final weekend.
Tasha A.F. Lemley Volunteers Dac Phan and Gordie Dunn stock shelves at The Little Pantry That Could. “Sometimes we just go ‘There’s no way this (food) is all going to fit.’ And we just we make it fit every single day — every single time,” said Dunn.
Tasha A.F. Lemley IQ, a native Nashville resident, watches the last delivery at The Little Pantry That Could. “This hurts me to my heart,” he says. “I’m going to miss it. (Stacy has) been real good to me … she’s just like a mom to me.”
Tasha A.F. Lemley “I don’t want the little pantry to shut down for good. Nobody does. … People don’t just come in for the food,” said Kevin Davis, a shopper at The Little Pantry That Could.
Tasha A.F. Lemley “I know that I should be grateful because there’s so many people that are so much worse off, you know? And I got to be grateful for that. And whatever doesn’t break you makes you stronger. You know, it’ll come around. I don’t know when, but it will,” said Petunia, a shopper at The Little Pantry That Could.
Tasha A.F. Lemley Ashley Taylor is a caregiver, certified nursing assistant and single mother of 3 living in Section 8 housing. She’s been coming to the pantry off and on for the past 7 years, and said The Little Pantry That Could was about more than the food: “I look at it for outreach for me and my ministry to come amongst new people and meet new people … just getting to know people because you never know what the next person is going through.”
Tasha A.F. Lemley At The Little Pantry That Could, shoppers would leave with about 60 pounds of groceries each week.
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