Central General Store exists to provide immediate, hyper-local support to neighbors facing food insecurity. While we’re not a long-term fix to systemic hunger, micro-pantries like ours fill critical gaps, offering low-barrier, 24/7 access to food right where people live. When every block has a small, community-run resource like this, it creates a safety net that is flexible, responsive, and deeply rooted in the neighborhoods it serves.

 

Our first little free pantry opened at 52nd and Central Ave. Initially assumed to be a low-need area, research revealed that nearly 12% of households in the zip code live at or below the poverty line. That’s more than 3,500 families who may experience food insecurity. The need may be less visible here, but it is no less real.

 

We quickly expanded to a second location at 2837 E. New York Street, where the need is more acute: 27% of households are at or below the poverty line. Our third pantry opened in August 2024 at 1920 W. Morris Street, another high-need area, followed by our fourth during the November 2025 government shutdown, when a temporary pause in SNAP benefits left many families without support.

 

Central General Store hopes to continue expanding and contributing to the growing network of hyper-local micro-pantries across our city, state, and country. Together, these small efforts create meaningful, community-powered solutions to hunger—one block at a time.

​

Central General Store is operated by Elizabeth Friedland.

​

​Fast Facts

• The 52nd and Central pantry empties out, on average, every 48 hours.​

• The New York and Rural pantry empties out, on average, every 6-12 hours.

• It costs approximately $83 to fully stock a pantry. 

• Central General Store was inspired by the global Little Free Pantry movement. More can be found at littlefreepantry.org

​​

​​

​​

​