After realizing many members of her community needed greater access to fresh, healthy food, Faith Geistweidt created a countywide community service project in 2022 that’s still going strong.
“I learned that 40% of the people in my hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas, were undernourished, and 30% of our population was obese,” says Geistweidt, a Fredericksburg FFA alumna and freshman agricultural communications major at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “Plus, 60% of the students in the Fredericksburg Independent School District came from underprivileged families. I wanted to do something to help my community; that’s how The Healthy Pantry Haus was born.”
Geistweidt saw a need for a food pantry that provided more than nonperishable canned goods; she envisioned shelves stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables that would be regularly replenished to ensure no one left empty-handed. However, she needed help to bring her vision to life.
“I designed The Healthy Pantry Haus’ one-room structure with the help of one of my FFA advisors, and a local welder was gracious enough to build it free of charge, right next to our school’s ag barn,” Geistweidt says. “Every part of this project has been made possible by generous donations, from the building and the electricity to the refrigerator, all the food the pantry provides and the website. It’s been a community effort from the start.”
Open to the public since June 4, 2022, The Healthy Pantry Haus continues to operate on a donation-only basis. Businesses and individuals in the Gillespie County area and beyond provide funds to the Fredericksburg FFA to keep the pantry up and running, and a volunteer committee of FFA members rotates food shopping and pantry management responsibilities weekly.
“Even though I’ve moved away for college, The Healthy Pantry Haus lives on, thanks to students in my FFA chapter and ongoing support from donors far and wide,” Geistweidt says. “It’s an amazing testament to the goodness in people and the importance of working together to make the impossible possible.”
The Healthy Pantry Haus is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and all food pickups remain anonymous. In addition to food products, the pantry provides spices and healthy recipes that visitors can take with them so it’s easy to put their nutritious ingredients to use.
“My dream is to create a nonprofit organization that helps solve hunger globally, not only by providing food but also teaching people how to grow their own crops — even if it’s just a small garden,” Geistweidt says. “This is the first step of many.”
Looking to serve your community? Check out these ideas at www.ffa.org/livingtoserve/types-of-service/.
