The Tri-Village Lions Club plans to open a free outdoor food pantry at The Coventry Senior Living in Upper Arlington, part of a push to address hunger in a community where need often goes unnoticed.

The Little Free Pantry, also called a Blessing Box, is a small cabinet stocked with non-perishable food, toiletries, baby supplies and pet food. It is scheduled to be installed and open to the public by late fall, CityScene Magazine reported. Anyone can take what they need or leave what they can, without signing up or identifying themselves.

Leslie Howard, president of the Tri-Village Lions Club, told CityScene that people assume affluent zip codes have no need. "One would suspect that in those zip codes there's no need, and that is so not true," Howard said.

Lions Club members Allen Sulser and Anna Reed designed and built the pantry. Rob Mottice, director of community experience at The Coventry, told CityScene the new box will be larger than a small pantry Coventry residents have maintained for two years. It will sit in a more accessible spot so people can reach it by foot, bike or car while staying anonymous. Mottice said it is important to acknowledge that people struggle in every community and to let them maintain their dignity without feeling ashamed.

Growing demand, shrinking lists

Jane Jarrow, a Lions Club member who organizes the Tri-Village Packers, told CityScene that at least 500 children across the Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights school systems are food insecure and on the free lunch program. Requests for Packers meals jumped 50 percent between March and November 2025, she said.

Then the numbers moved the other direction. The count of children receiving Packers meals dropped about 20 percent between December 2025 and March 2026, Jarrow said, after parents asked to be removed from the list. She attributed the drop to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showing up at Grandview Elementary schools for four days.

The Packers are volunteer-run and supported by donations and grants. They provide free meals to children during school breaks, including options for Halal, Kosher and gluten-free or dairy-free diets. The City of Upper Arlington describes the Packers as a community partnership led by the Tri-Village Lions, Northwest Kiwanis, Upper Arlington Schools, Grandview Schools and other local organizations.

Statewide, food assistance rolls have been shrinking. Ohio's total Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation fell by about 107,500 people between July 2025 and May 2026, an 8 percent decline, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Children accounted for 47 percent of Ohio's total participation drop, the center reported.

Student involvement planned

Organizers hope to partner with Upper Arlington High School to have student clubs help monitor, restock and organize the pantry as a service project, Jarrow told CityScene. Howard said families in the area rely heavily on service organizations like the Lions Club, the Packers and the Northwest Kiwanis Club. First Community Church in Grandview operates the Heart to Heart Food Pantry, and Boulevard Presbyterian Church has a small pantry box it restocks monthly.

"What it comes down to is … if we don't do this, no one will," Jarrow told CityScene.

Community resources and ways to help

  • Cram-A-Cruiser Food Drive: The Upper Arlington Police Division collects non-perishable food for the Heart to Heart Food Pantry from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at Fire Station 72, 3861 Reed Rd.
  • Tri-Village Packers: Upper Arlington Schools has extended the Thanksgiving break food-support signup deadline to Nov. 9. The winter break signup deadline is Nov. 20.
  • Firefighters 4 Kids Toy Drive: Celebrating its 49th year, the drive accepts toy donations for Columbus children ages 0–12 at Fire Station 72, 3861 Reed Rd.