Other tools count visits. This runs the pantry.
Run your pantry with less friction.
Walk-in, by appointment, big distribution days, or open after hours — one system that runs your pantry the way you run it.
Run it your way — or the way you always wanted to.
Most pantries run the way they do because of a barrier, not a choice: nobody to answer a booking phone, no way to control a door after hours, no storefront so everyone gets the same box. Those are technology problems, and they are the ones we removed.
Big distribution days
The barrierA line down the block and a volunteer with a clipboard.
NowPickup windows spread the day out — each slot holds only what your lot can.
By appointment
The barrierAppointments meant someone answering a phone all week.
NowGuests book themselves; your visit rules and limits are already built in.
Open after hours
The barrierYou cannot staff a door at 9pm for the neighbor working two jobs.
NowA one-time door code opens your smart lock. No staff, no app.
Guest choice
The barrierPre-packed boxes for everyone, because choice needed a storefront.
NowNeighbors shop your live stock online or in person and take what they will eat.
Food rescue
The barrierLoads arrive unannounced, and there is no way to tell the neighborhood.
NowPost a window when the truck shows up — the pantry opens when food arrives.
Simple open hours
NowKeep it. Post your hours, check-in takes a moment, and nothing about your model has to change.
Trying a model is a setting, not a migration. Run one distribution day with pickup windows and see.
Self-service access
Open, even when nobody is there.
Guests check in from any phone and get a one-time door code that opens your smart lock. A neighbor who works two jobs shops at 8pm on a Tuesday — no line, no staff, no paperwork at the door.
- One-time door codes on your existing smart lock
- Walk-in or scheduled visits, your visit rules built in
- Works in any phone's browser — nothing to download
Pickup windows
The line, without the line.
Schedule walk-in visits, or throttle a big distribution day into calm half-hours. When the lot holds six cars, that is what a slot holds — so the food moves, the neighbors never circle the block, and nobody is turned away at the curb.
- Windows with a capacity you set — per half-hour, per day
- Guests book a spot themselves and get a reminder
- Weekly hours, or a one-off “the truck just arrived” drop
Online ordering
A shop, not a form.
Your real stock, browsable like any store. Neighbors pick what their family actually eats, you pack it, they pick it up — dignity is the point, and it happens to be faster for everyone.
- A storefront drawn from live inventory
- Pick, pack, ready — pickup or delivery
- Bundles and get-it-again for regulars
Reporting and grants
The numbers funders ask for, already counted.
Households served, pounds distributed, dollars per funding source — counted from your daily work, not reconstructed the night a report is due. TEFAP and Feeding America numbers come out of what you already did.
- Tie every dollar spent to its funding source
- Show a funder exactly who you served with their money
- Impact numbers your website can publish — counted, not guessed
And the rest of the pantry, covered
All included. No modules to buy, ever.
Guests and households
Search by name, phone, address or ZIP. Every visit on the household record. Duplicates found and merged.
Inventory
Receive by scan, photo, or by hand. Real shelf counts, low-stock thresholds, and history.
Volunteers and events
Shifts, sign-ups, weekly programs and reminders — claiming a shift takes one tap.
A website for your pantry
Pick one of three designs and every page matches. Your color, your words, no web guy required.
Donations, acknowledged
Online giving through Stripe, plus tax acknowledgments and annual statements for your donors.
Community resources
A shared directory neighbors search by need — and it grows stronger with every pantry that joins.
And some of it is simply free.
Every pantry belongs in the commons — whether or not you ever pay us a dollar. Two things are free for any pantry, forever:
A hosted website for your pantry
A real website, hosted by us, so neighbors can find your hours, your address and your door — at your-pantry.pantrycommons.com, or on a domain you already own.
- Three designs — pick one and every page matches
- Your logo, your color, your words
- Already own a domain? Point it at us and we handle the rest
- No web guy, no hosting bill, no plugins to update
The Pantry Commons network
Pantries near each other, actually talking. The network is open to every pantry — it only works if everyone is in it.
- Order together to reach the case and pallet minimums none of you hit alone
- Post surplus before it spoils, and say what you are short on
- Ask for the volunteers you are short, from the pantries nearest you
Free means free — no trial clock, no credit card, no nagging.
Start free. Pay only for the full pantry system.
The website and the network are free forever. When you want the rest — door access, pickup windows, the storefront, inventory, grants — everything is included at one price. No modules, no per-user fees, priced only by how many households you are actively serving.
See pricing$39 / month, to start
30 days free. No credit card.
Looking for food or support?
You do not need an account. Search the community directory for pantries, housing, health and more near you.
Bring Pantry Commons to your pantry
Tell us a little about your pantry and we'll walk you through it — no pressure, no jargon.