u/ZealousidealLead8122

She walked in carrying her little brother on her hip.

Couldn't have been older than nine herself. He was maybe three, clinging to her shirt like it was the only anchor he had in the world. She set him down gently, picked up one of our kid meal bags, enough food and snacks to carry a child through the week, plus juice or milk, and handed it to him like it was precious cargo.

Then she looked up and asked: "Can we come back next week?"

That question still echoes in my mind. Not because it caught us off guard. But because it reminded us what's really at stake here.

This pantry isn't about boxes of food. It's about kids who don't have to wonder if dinner will happen. It's about siblings protecting each other. It's about families stretching dollars so thin they become invisible.

We're two people running this out of our front room, fueled by love, exhaustion, and the stubborn belief that no child should go hungry. But love alone doesn't fill meal bags. Rent doesn't pay for groceries. And good intentions don't keep shelves stocked.

Last month, our community stepped up when we were drowning. We felt it, the outpouring, the shares, the messages saying "keep going." Because of you, another kid ate. Another family got by.

But here's the truth: the internet moves fast. A viral post lasts a few days. A pantry stays open for months. Years. Decades.

And we're asking you to choose long-term over short-term.

📍 DONATIONS ARE STILL BEHIND

We need $3,500 this month to keep doing this work. Right now we're falling short. Social media surges help, but they're not enough. What sustains us isn't the peak, it's the baseline. The quiet Tuesday morning when someone sends $20 without fanfare. The regular donor who shows up every month like clockwork. The person who decides to stop sharing and start giving.

💰 HERE'S WHAT YOUR MONEY DOES

• $4 = one complete kid meal bag
• $15 = a week of snacks for one child
• $50 = a weekend "Pantry Pal" kit for a family
• $100 = a full week of operation costs
• $3,500 = keeps us open for an entire month

No overhead. No bureaucracy. Just food. Directly into hands that need it.

If you've been waiting for the "right time" to donate, this is it. If you shared our post but didn't follow through, please close the distance between intention and action. If you just heard about us, welcome. You found us at exactly the right moment.

We don't want to be the pantry that closed because the well ran dry. We want to be the pantry that stayed open because Tucson said "not on our watch."

The girl with her brother on her hip? She trusted us. She asked permission. She believed we'd still be here when she came back.

Let's prove her right.

💜 Alex and Leah
Queer Girls' Pantry for Kids
1003 W Huron St, Tucson AZ 85745
Mon-Thu 8am-4pm | Fri by appointment
Donate: tr.ee/YKBYft

#MutualAid #Tucson #FeedKids #CommunityCare #QueerPantry #ShowUp #EndChildHunger

She walked in carrying her little brother on her hip.

Couldn't have been older than nine herself. He was maybe three, clinging to her shirt. She set him down, picked up one of our kid meal bags, enough food and snacks to get a kid through the week, plus a juice or milk, and handed it to him to hold like it was treasure.

Then she looked up at us and said: "Is it okay if we come back next week?"

That's who we are fighting for.

Not abstract statistics. Not a faceless charity line item. Little girls who carry their siblings on their hips and still think to ask permission. Families who get one trip a week to load up because honestly, that's all we can stretch to cover right now. One bag. One visit. One moment where a child gets to just be a child instead of worrying where the next meal comes from.

Last week's response to our post overwhelmed us. We felt the love. We felt the community lifting us up when we couldn't lift ourselves. And it kept the shelves stocked just a little longer.

But we're not out of the woods yet.

Donations are still below what we need to sustain $3,500 this month. The post gave us a surge, but surges fade. What keeps a pantry alive is what happens the week after the big post. And the week after that.

So here's our ask:

If the last post moved you and you meant to donate but didn't get to it, now is the moment. If you shared it and want to do one more thing, $4 fills a meal bag for a kid. If you've never heard of us before, welcome, and we need you.

Right now, one visit a week is all we can manage. We'd love nothing more than to open our doors wider, to say "come back tomorrow" instead of "see you next week." But we can't get there alone.

We are two people running this out of love and exhaustion in equal measure. Every dollar is a meal bag, a snack, a juice box, a safe place, a week where a child doesn't go hungry.

We don't want to be the pantry that closed. We want to be the place that stayed open because Tucson refused to let it fall.

💜 Alex and Leah

Queer Girls' Pantry for Kids
1003 W Huron St, 85745
Monday through Thursday 8-4
Friday by appointment

tr.ee/YKBYft

#MutualAid #Tucson #FeedingKids #CommunityCare #QueerPantry #ShowUp

This is one of the hardest things we've had to write.

For months, Queer Girls' Pantry for Kids has been a small corner of hope in our neighborhood, a place where kids walk in hungry and leave fed, where families know they'll be met with love instead of judgment, where the little ones know they're safe and seen.

But right now, that future is uncertain.

We operate on roughly $3,500 a month in donations. Just enough to keep the shelves stocked, the fridge full, and the kids eating. And over the last month, those donations have fallen off sharply. We're watching the supplies dwindle with no clear path forward.

If donations don't pick up soon, we may have to close our doors.

And that means fewer meals for kids who need them. Fewer warm welcomes for families struggling to make ends meet. Less safety for queer and vulnerable children in our community.

This isn't just a pantry. It's proof that care is possible. That people can look out for each other. That kids deserve to grow up knowing someone fought for them.

If you can give, even $5, even a bag of groceries, even sharing this message, we would be so grateful.

We're holding onto hope. But we can't hold it alone.

💜 Thank you for being part of this journey.

Queer Girls' Pantry for Kids
1003 W Huron St. 85745
Monday through Thursday 8-4
Friday by appointment
tr.ee/YKBYft

#MutualAid #Tucson #FoodInsecurity #LGBTQAffirming #CommunityCare #QueerPantry

Howdy neighbors!!! Arizona gave out Sun Bucks to SNAP beneficiaries this month and it was only an additional $120 as a one time payment to bridge the gap for kids being home for the summer. Our families are stressed as the kids are home for another month and a half, some schools two more months.

Cash, Venmo, or donations via our LinkTree website would greatly help us keep the shelves full with some cool and fun items for summer.

Queer Girls’ Pantry for Kids
1003 W Huron St
85745
Monday through Thursday 8-4
Friday by appointments

tr.ee/YKBYft