Pantry Volunteer
Individuals, Businesses, and other Organizations can host a Food Drive on behalf of Brave Space Alliance. Food Drives are a great way to make an in-kind donation to help keep one of our pantry sites stocked. If you would like to coordinate a food drive, please send us an email no later than one (1) week before you plan on starting your drive. Please refer to our Food Drive FAQs for more information.
From here, we will provide you with additional details needed to coordinate this effort.
For food drives to benefit our BSA Delivery program, please contact: jah@bravespacealliance.org or tj@bravespacealliance.org
All clothing drive inquiries can be submitted to our Health & Wellness Programs Manager, Niya at niya@bravespacealliance.org
If you would like to become a Pantry Volunteer please request access to our Pantry Volunteer Google Group below!
Donation
PODS
Donation Pods are groups of community members who raise funds in order to purchase specific supplies needed at our pantry sites. The concept of a “Donation Pod” stems from the “Buyers Club” framework in which community members come together to pool resources to scale their buying power.
The donation pod system at BSA was created to encourage people to donate consistently so we can have a dependable supply resource for our Community Pantry Programs.
If you have a question that is not answered below please contact the coordinator.
Sourcing Guidelines
With our Mutual Aid Framework in mind, we ask you to remember that the supplies that you gather benefit your neighbors; specifically your Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ neighbors.
This means that any supplies gathered should not be:
- Expired
- Open
- Used
- In an otherwise poor condition
Our neighbors in need deserve quality resources that affirm their needs. Please take care to ensure all items collected are in the best condition.
Donation POD FAQs
We maintain a list of supplies needed at each pantry. These lists have been built and are continuously updated based on feedback from the communities that we work in to ensure that we are sourcing and distributing culturally affirming and other critically needed items.
When fundraising and procuring items with your Donation Pod, we ask that you select one Pantry List from one Pantry Site to ensure that we are collecting those items and distributing these specific item requests at each individual site.
Virtual Drives
We also maintain an *Amazon Wish List of items that will benefit our Pantry Delivery Program. This is a great way for folks/ organizations not based in Chicago or that are working remotely to get involved. Items purchased through this Wish List will be automatically shipped to the Brave Space Alliance office in Hyde Park.
*The Pantry can accept items not from the Amazon list
Once your fundraising/ procurement cycle has ended, you will be responsible for delivering the items that you have gathered. To do so, please adhere to the following action items to ensure that your donation is received and recorded correctly. Additionally, please be mindful of the drop off days and times that have been provided for each pantry site.
Gather all supplies that have been collected and prepare them for delivery to your designated site.
Please be sure to exclude any expired, opened, used, items
Send an email to jah@bravespacealliance.org with the following:
- Submit all receipts or photos of your donations
- Fill out and attach the completed inventory sheet with the items that you collected
- Drop off your supplies at the designated pantry site
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we kindly ask that you please be considerate of the following when making your drop off at your designated site:
- Please wear a KN95 Mask or a Double Mask
- Wash your hands and/or use hand sanitizer before handling food items
- Please be mindful of your proximity to others and try to maintain at least 6 feet distance between yourself and others
