05/06/2026
Little Free Farmstand FAQ 🗣️
Can I donate?
Yes, and…….
The Little Free Farmstand is a micro mutual aid hub, *not* a charity or non-profit organization. A core belief at LFF is that access to nutritious food is a basic human right and one of our primary aims is redistributing excess produce home gardeners are harvesting to community members in need of easy access to fresh fruits and veggies - filling a gap in the incredible work already done by local food pantries.
We invite other local home gardeners to share the bounty of their harvests with the community, and provide space at the Stand for gardeners to drop off and patrons to pick up that extra produce in a centralized location, rather than going from house to house. This includes eggs and honey, as well as fruits and vegetables. (A note: While we are working on a small refrigeration unit for warmer months, we can not guarantee temperature controlled food storage. We do have a small cooler to protect against significant temperature swings.) All you need to do as a gardener is bring your extra harvest to the stand, snap a quick photo of what you left to send to the Stand over messenger, and go about your day. I’ll post to update the community about what’s available as things come in.
We also welcome folks to contribute basic hygiene/first aid necessities (no sharps, please) to the Community Closet bins. Donated items should be unopened and/or individually packaged. We also encourage those looking to donate these items to bring them to your local food pantry. For us here in Franklin, that’s Franklin Food Pantry, but there are others in neighboring towns as well. They do a fantastic job getting food and care resources to local folks on a large scale and are always looking for more personal care items on their shelves.
“But wait! I just want to give a few dollars and go about my day!” You can do that too. I will be installing a small box where you can leave your gift to the community. I will keep what’s given until it can cover the cost of a week of Monday Meal Kits and then use it to cover the cost of that week’s groceries. Remember, we are a mutual aid hub and not a 501c3, so any money left at the stand is given as a gift, not a donation. It is not tax deductible. For folks looking to donate money to a non-profit organization, we recommend your local food pantry. Everything stocked at the stand is offered in solidarity to the community free of charge, on a first come, first served basis. We put our trust in our neighbors to access what they need, when they need it, without judgement or requiring “evidence” or “proof” of need.
Looking to help out through executive functioning tasks or time and labor instead of money or things? Check out the lists of projects for the stand and see where your skills line up! Let a local home gardener going through the “oops I’m drowning in zucchini” rite of passage know about Edible Gardens for the Commonwealth and encourage them to share their produce at Little Free Farmstand or another Edible Gardens distribution site. Mention us to a friend who might benefit from stopping by to pick something up. We’re all in this together.
