This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
STATE COLLEGE — The tables outside Housing Transitions didn’t come with a sign-in sheet, a line to stand in or someone watching what you took.
That was the point.
On Feb. 13, Housing Transitions hosted a Pop-Up Pantry at its State College location, partnering with Centre Helps and the Youth Service Bureau to offer free food, clothing and other basics to anyone who needed them.
No questions, no paperwork and no awkward moment of having to explain why you’re there.
“A lot of people stop by and take advantage of it and we don’t man it,” said Shannon Newby, program manager at Housing Transitions. “So nobody has any shame or guilt.”
Newby said the pop-up pantry idea began in mid-November after a government shutdown disrupted SNAP benefits and community members started looking for ways to help.
“It started back in November when the government shut down and everybody lost their food stamps,” Newby said. “So we were seeing an influx of food donations because people wanted to find a way to help and it was just more than our little family shelter could hold. So rather than sitting on a shelf in a basement storage room somewhere, we decided to put out a pop up pantry and see if people in need would stop by. And it went really well.”
Instead of keeping the pantry staffed, Housing Transitions leaves it “unmanned,” as Newby put it, with information available for people who want to connect to more support.
“We just leave it out there unmanned and we leave pamphlets of information about our emergency food pantry that we have here year round,” she said.
Newby said the pop-up pantry has drawn steady traffic without draining the supply.
“We don’t ever really run out of food, but the donations keep coming so we just keep holding them,” she said.
The pantry has been held in spurts since November, with a pause for the holidays and due to weather, but has since returned.
“We just have it whenever we have stuff and we try to have it on Fridays,” Newby said.
Centre Helps became involved after seeing similar donation overflow, Newby said.
“Centre Helps is across the street from us now and they also operate a little food pantry there for people who are in need and they also saw lot of donations so they asked us if they could join us,” she said.
Youth Service Bureau joined after offering items following a recent community event.
“At the Gimme Shelter event, the Youth Service Bureau approached us and asked if we needed any clothes or jackets or blankets,” Newby said. “And we said we did not, but we were going to have a pop up pantry if they wanted to join. So they came down.”
Christine Bishop, CEO of the Youth Service Bureau, said the partnership reflects how nonprofits often meet the same need from different angles and how sharing resources can lower barriers for families.
“We partner with other folks doing similar work, other nonprofits all the time,” Bishop said. “So these kinds of things just kind of naturally grow out of what we all see as the need. And I think we all have something unique and a little bit different to bring to the table.”
Bishop said YSB has seen stronger turnout when free items are offered in an accessible, informal way.
“We noticed when we would host events where we just kind of put stuff out yard sale style, but it’s all free, we had a lot better response,” she said. “So I think we’re all really interested in just reducing barriers to access basic necessities.”
Bishop said Youth Service Bureau has served Centre County since 1968, beginning as “a grassroots effort” after a judge and community volunteers pushed for services closer to home.
“Judge R. Paul Campbell was seeing young people come before him in his courtroom because they had gotten into minor legal trouble and we were having to send them away for treatment services,” Bishop said. “So we got our start when the judge and other community volunteers were saying we should be helping our kids here in their home community.”
Today, Bishop said, YSB’s mission is “to make sure that all kids and their families have all the opportunities they need to succeed,” including shelter services and prevention-focused programs such as mentoring, after-school youth centers and family services.
Natasha Smith, Program Manager at Centre Helps, said the collaboration is routine because the organizations work closely year-round. Centre Helps delivered donations to Housing Transitions Friday morning after being contacted about the pop-up, she said.
“We all come together for them too,” Smith said. “We’ve been doing them more frequently. And we all work very closely together. So if one person needs support, we do like to collaborate.”
Smith said Centre Helps supports the community through two hotlines: the Centre Helps line for information and referrals and the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
“I manage both of those programs and they are entirely run by Penn State volunteers,” Smith said, adding Centre Helps also has “two basic needs case managers” working with community partners.
All three organizations encouraged residents who want to help to reach out directly, donate or volunteer. Newby emphasized that consistent giving matters.
“As cliche as it sounds, dollars help,” Newby said. “With the state of the government, none of our funding is ever guaranteed anymore.”
Smith said Centre Helps can always use food and basic necessities.
“I would say like toiletries, diapers and canned goods could always be helpful,” she said.
Bishop put it simply: “Reach out to your local nonprofits,” she said, “and ask how you can help.”
