We want to bring a food pantry to Roeland park!

our story

The Pantry at Roots Church can only be described as a community collaboration. We carry on the legacy of feeding neighbors that happened on the property before Roots took over the building. The former food pantry closed before Roots arrived and neighbors kept asking if we were going to re-open. As a new, small, young church we knew that we couldn’t do it on our own, so we put a simple ask out on the RP Neighbors Facebook Group: would anyone like to help us start it again? Our asks were simple: 1) it would be a client-choice pantry; 2) we would serve folks who live or work in Roeland Park; and 3) any volunteers would need to be cool with our young LGBTQ & BIPOC-centered church. TWENTY-FOUR people showed up to the first interest meeting—20 neighbors and 4 from Roots. From there, we are dreaming forward toward re-opening fall 2026! Here’s how to help:

Food Sourcing Volunteer Form

Thank you for your generosity!

To give online, use our Roots online giving system and select “The Pantry @ Roots” fund. You can set it up as a recurring or one-time gift.

Give to the Pantry

What’s next?

Once we secure our food sourcing volunteers and donors, check back for others ways to help (distribution volunteers, renovating our space, etc.)

Questions? Interested in partnering? Email us!

Here are the top volunteer opportunities and donations we need to secure before opening the pantry: 

  1. $1000 committed in monthly giving -- This will allow us to stock staple food items on our shelves so that our pantry is a reliable source of food for our neighbors. 

  2. 5 Volunteers to Pick up Free Food Donations -- We have 10+ community partners who will donate pantry items on a monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly basis. We need volunteers who can pick up these donations on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. 

  3. Access to 1-2 pick up trucks on a monthly basis - We will have a few large loads each month and access to a pickup truck or large SUV will make that process easier. 

  4. 1-2 Volunteers to Coordinate Food Pick Up Volunteers -- This role can be done remotely and is responsible for setting the food pick up schedule and coordinating with the volunteers through emails/ text reminders. Once this process is set up, we anticipate this role taking approx. 1 hour/week. 

The button below connects you to a survey that helps share your volunteer or donation capability.