Pasco curbside food pantry was a small gesture of kindness that snowballed

Paige Martin wanted to meet a greater community need during the coronavirus pandemic.

When COVID-19 health crisis first hit the Tri-Cities, the 25-year-old Pasco woman started out sewing masks to give away. But that didn’t feel like enough.

So, she put a “Blessing Box” in her front yard.

The small food pantry — an old bookshelf with doors — sits on her curb on Blue Jay Drive at the intersection of Mariner Lane.

“I was still gainfully employed and wanted to give back to the community,” said Martin, who is a manager at Golf Universe.

Her mom, Angie Martin, assistant pastor at HOPE Tri-Cities church in Richland, said Paige was the whole engine behind the effort.

“Paige has a huge heart and is always looking out for the interest of others,” she said.

They started by putting out some extra food items and it grew.

“Take what you need. Leave what you can,” says the windows on the box.

At first, people stopped to just look at the cabinet. Some food items were taken.

Then neighbors started dropping off boxes of essential pantry items as well as hygiene items — and even a few puzzles to stock it.

They started with about five boxes of canned and boxed food items.

Now, they’ve added shelving in the garage to hold the overflow from a growing number of community donations.

“It snowballed to be bigger than we would have guessed it to be,” she said. “It was our act of kindness during a global crisis, but it is amazing to see how it’s flourished into a massive community effort.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.