{"id":232531,"date":"2026-01-13T11:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/?p=232531"},"modified":"2026-01-13T17:12:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T22:12:01","slug":"little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\/","title":{"rendered":"This Hackensack Teen Is Helping Fight Food Insecurity With a Mini Food Pantry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"custom_featured_image\" style=\"display:none;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-800x800.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"hackensack little free food pantry\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-800x800.png 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-585x585.png 585w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><div id=\"custom_category\" style=\"display:none;\">neighbor news <\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With so much happening across the United States right now, local communities are stepping up in powerful ways. In Bergen County, neighbors continue to support each other, especially those <a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/bergen-county-resources-for-families-affected-by-snap-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">facing food insecurity<\/a>. One standout is Sylvia Brown, a Hackensack High School senior and Girl Scout, who created a mini food pantry at the Hackensack M&amp;M Recreation Center, located at 116 Holt Street, as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. <strong>Read on to learn more about Sylvia and Hackensack\u2019s first mini food pantry.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-232537\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia.png\" alt=\"hackensack little free food pantry\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia.png 1080w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-800x800.png 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia-585x585.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Image courtesy of Sylvia Brown.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About the Pantry<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Sylvia Brown, a Hackensack High School senior working toward her Girl Scout Gold Award, recently created and installed Hackensack\u2019s first mini food pantry outside the Hackensack M&amp;M Recreation Building at 116 Hold Street. This pantry was fully organized and led by Sylvia as her Girl Scout Gold Award candidate project to help make food more accessible to local families.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Read more:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/jersey-gelato-haworth-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jersey &amp; Co Gelato Opens Its Third Location in Haworth<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is not Sylvia\u2019s first time taking on a project that helps her community. In fifth grade, she earned her Girl Scout Bronze Award by working with her troop to support animal welfare and improve shared community spaces. Together, they renovated the dog park in Maywood, making it a safer and more welcoming place for residents and their pups, and collected donations for a local animal shelter.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sylvia continued this work in eighth grade when she earned her Girl Scout Silver Award by focusing on food access + community wellness. Sylvia helped plan and plant a community garden that provided fresh fruits and vegetables for neighbors facing food insecurity. Through that project, nearly 100 pounds of fresh produce were donated to the Center for Food Action in Hackensack. These earlier projects helped inspire her to take on an even greater effort for her Gold Award.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTWAt6jDwvC\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTWAt6jDwvC\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Hackensack Unites (@hackensackunites)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sylvia shared what inspired her to create the pantry, saying, \u201cI saw there was a lot of food insecurity in my community, so I thought making mini food pantries, where people can donate and drop off food, and people can take it for their families when they need it, would be a great idea. People can give what they can and take what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hackensack Mayor Caseen Gaines also praised Sylvia\u2019s work, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTWAt6jDwvC\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">saying<\/a>, \u201cThis is the kind of thing that we should be celebrating. We have one of the students in our schools who saw an issue in her community and earned our support.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>See more: <a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/jerseyshore\/bon-jovi-soul-kitchen-pop-up-close-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bon Jovi\u2019s JBJ Soul Kitchen Toms River Pop-up Closing 1\/30<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mini food pantry is open 24 hours a day and is located outside the M&amp;M Recreation Center at 116 Holt Street. Community members are encouraged to stop by to donate nonperishable food items or take what they need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For questions or to get involved, Sylvia can be contacted at sbrowngoldcandidate@gmail.com.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Follow @thebergencountygirl on\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thebergencountygirl\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thehobokengirl\/?hl=en\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for the latest Bergen County updates,\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thebergencountygirl.myflodesk.com\/uu0mgpgtm0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/view.flodesk.com\/pages\/62f92877e5ea6b3d8aea50ad\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">sign up for our email list here<\/a>\u00a0that shares everything you missed each week, and check out our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.hobokengirl.com\/events\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">events calendar<\/a>, which has over 30+ events weekly to peruse.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/category\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-120164\" src=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8.jpg\" alt=\"more news\" width=\"450\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8-800x267.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8-1024x341.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8-768x256.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/02\/8-1536x512.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>neighbor news With so much happening across the United States right now, local communities are stepping up in powerful ways. In Bergen&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":232537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9720,9722,7997,9827,9593],"tags":[9710,9783,9828],"class_list":["post-232531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bergen-county-towns","category-hackensack","category-lifestyle","category-news-2","category-local-girl-rss-feed","tag-bergen-county-news","tag-tlg","tag-volunteering"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Hackensack Teen Is Helping Fight Food Insecurity With a Mini Food Pantry - The Bergen County Girl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Hackensack teen is helping her community by building a Little Free Pantry outside a local community center.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Hackensack Teen Is Helping Fight Food Insecurity With a Mini Food Pantry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Hackensack teen is helping her community by building a Little Free Pantry outside a local community center.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bergen County Girl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-13T16:53:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-13T22:12:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thelocalgirl.com\/bergen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carli Clesmere\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carli Clesmere\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carli Clesmere\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9b30e6678d19c9a83d801a565b130faa\"},\"headline\":\"This Hackensack Teen Is Helping Fight Food Insecurity With a Mini Food Pantry\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-13T16:53:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-13T22:12:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":546,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/hackensackfoodpantry_silvia.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Bergen County News\",\"The Local Girl\",\"volunteering\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bergen County Towns\",\"Hackensack\",\"Lifestyle\",\"News\",\"The Local Girl\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelocalgirl.com\\\/bergen\\\/little-free-food-pantry-hackensack-new-jersey\\\/\",\"name\":\"This Hackensack Teen Is Helping Fight Food Insecurity With a Mini Food Pantry - 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