HATTIESBURG — Three “mini pantries” in the Hub City — on a university campus, at a community center and in a church driveway — form a network of neighbors fighting hunger.
Stocked with canned food, pasta and hygiene items, these pantries invite anyone to give or take what they need. They’re part of a national movement inspired by Little Free Libraries, with nearly 3,700 pantries registered nationwide — including 15 in Mississippi.
The boxes fill a gap for thousands in Forrest County who don’t qualify for federal food assistance. A 2025 Feeding America report found more than 7,000 residents earn too much for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program but still struggle to afford groceries.
Neighbors helping neighbors
Karl Eisenring, president of Junior Chamber International USA’s Mississippi Chapter, helps oversee one of the city’s pantries through his organization. He said statistics about food insecurity resonate with him personally.
“My mom was in that spot where she made just enough money to not qualify for anything, but she couldn’t afford a lot of stuff,” he said. “Seeing these little food pantries and making sure they’re filled is important overall — for the community, for the morale of the people in the community.”
Little Free Pantry describes mini pantries as a grassroots effort to make food available at any time, with no questions asked.
One of Hattiesburg’s longest-running examples is at the Wesley Foundation, a Methodist group at The University of Southern Mississippi. It operates both indoor and outdoor pantries on campus, but they’re stocked by donations from the community.
“We actually don’t even stock ours,” said Executive Director Eric Davis. “People from the community make it work.”
The newest box was installed by area resident Randi Gardner, who said she often sees neighbors struggling to make ends meet and wanted to put up a mini pantry to help fill that need.
“I see a lot of people that you know are looking for food and assistance,” she said. “I see people that live on the streets, and I just wanted to see what I could do.”
Gardner placed a donated cabinet in the driveway of the United House of Prayer for All People church on Sept. 10. Within 24 hours, she said, people were already stopping by.
“I just put a post up (on Facebook and Nextdoor) and asked, ‘Hey who would be interested in helping, or does anyone have anything they could donate,’ and it was like in a day I had tons of responses,” she said. “So, the people right here in this small radius on (Highway) 42 and up were willing to jump in and help.”
Growing the network
Hattiesburg’s pantries work, Davis said, because of the community. He said he has seen people who once relied on donations return to give back.
“That’s been … really eye-opening, watching people get on their feet. They turn around and go, ‘Hey, I have a job now. This helped me in my time, let me help it,’ so, it’s kind of like a neighbor-helping-neighbor kind of thing,” Davis said.
He said local efforts are also inspiring others to expand the network across the state.
“I’ve seen other Wesley Foundations in Mississippi begin to adopt these, which is a great thing,” Davis said. “Watching people catch a fire for this and say, ‘Hey, how can we just provide a little space for grace for people?’ And that’s really what this is.”
Gardner said she’s already thinking about expanding.
“I actually had a message … that asked if we take donated clothing items. We’re not set up to do that yet, but I thought that was a pretty good idea, so maybe that will come in the future,” she said.
In the meantime, she said she hopes the boxes offer a “blessing” for both those who give and those who receive.
“I think it just reminds people that there’s still some good out there,” Gardner said. “I think it’s just a reminder that we can still make a difference, and even if it’s something small like a blessing box, like we can still make a difference in a positive way.”
The Mini–Pantry Movement offers a map of registered mini pantry locations. For tips on building one, see the resource guide from Little Free Pantry.