Ainslie Community Pantry

01/05/2026

💐 GIFTS ALL ALLOCATED 💐

Mothers’ Day is coming up. We want to help celebrate all the mothers, mother-figures and carers. We have a beautifully generous pantry supporter who has kindly donated five pamper gift bags and a kitchen mixer. We’re raffling these off to raise money for the pantry and to give you a fabulous prize for a bargain.

Donate $5 to be entered. We select names next Saturday and notify the lucky recipients so it can be picked up or delivered.

You can nominate yourself or someone you think deserves a gift. Comment below to let us know who you’re nominating. You’ll go into the draw when we receive your $5 in the pantry account, PayID 0432 946 642. Put in the payment description the name of the person you’re nominating and whether you want a pamper bag or the mixer.

Please message us if you can’t pay by PayID or would like a Pay It Forward entry.

Let’s celebrate the fabulous, hardworking Mums of all kinds!
Image 1:
Pamper bag with pampering gifts and chocolate,

Image 2:
Kitchen mixer

26/04/2026

** BUY NOTHING AINSLIE TRAVELLING SUITCASE RUMMAGE THIS MONDAY (27 April) **

So popular and in demand we’re hosting again tomorrow!!

The whole fleet of travelling suitcases, all kids ages, adult sizes will be ready for you to look through and take as many items as you like. We need clothes to be worn and to shrink the impressive collection substantially. Come along, bring your friends, bring your family, get a new wardrobe. Drop by anytime between 10 and 4pm. Spread the word, take the clothes.

See you tomorrow!

24/04/2026

** BUY NOTHING AINSLIE TRAVELLING SUITCASES RUMMAGE - THIS SATURDAY (25 April) **

The whole fleet of travelling suitcases, all kids ages, adult sizes will be ready for you to look through and take as many items as you like. We need clothes to be worn and to shrink the impressive collection substantially. Come along, bring your friends, bring your family, get a new wardrobe. Drop by anytime between 10 and 4pm. Spread the word, take the clothes.

See you Saturday!

13/03/2026

Our Food Drive for the Inner North Community pantries is at Dickson Village Coles this weekend. Saturday and Sunday 10am-3pm. All our pantries are out, or low on supplies, our communities are struggling. We would love your help by donating an item or two from our shopping lists.

Ainslie Community Pantry
Braddon Street Pantry
North Lyneham Community Pantry
Lyneham Community Pantry
O'Connor Community Pantry
Watson Community Pantry

Drop by and say hi, drop off any non perishable foods you can, every item makes a difference. Coles has some great specials on key pantry supplies - flavoured tuna, beans, packet meals of pasta, soups - perfect timing for our food drive!!

Thanks to Amy at JLL property managers, Dickson Village, Coles for hosting us. Thanks to Roseanne at for organising and Mohammad at Helping ACT for making it possible.
Images: poster designed by North Lyneham Pantry. Inner North Pantry network logo top left. Words read Join Our Food Drive! Help us support families in need by donating non-perishable food items. In orange text block Every contribution makes a difference. March 14th & 15th March 10.00AM- 3.00PM. Location: Dickson Village Coles. Text bubble with This Weekend! Drawing of people collecting food. Images of 2 minute noodles, 1/2 price Coles specials tuna, spaghetti, packet soups

18/12/2025

Neighbours, we need your help with two things. The first is easy:

Our pantry is tiny, we focus on food and toiletries. Large amounts of household and wardrobe clear outs exhaust our small and busy volunteer team. We're not funded to manage often unusable items. We thank you for not thinking of us, and ask you to remind family, friends, community members that there are better places for bulk donations. Get in touch with us if you're in doubt. Induction cooktop, old microwave, dirty cookware, stained, old clothes and bedding, are a "no thank you."

Places you can donate/discard of things:

* Local Buy Nothing group
* Greenshed Donation bin at the Ainslie shops
* Bulky waste collection: https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/recycling-and-waste/drop-off/bulky-waste-collection

The second is tricky. If you know a friend, family or community member is waiting for our volunteers everyday, please ask them if they're ok. We're not Government funded, we rely on the generosity of our community to help those struggling. We know need looks very different and is broad. We want to reach as many of the community as we can. That means we cannot be the daily solution for large pick ups. Other services exist for exactly this. Please check in with those you know who might have something else going on. The demand in the community is incredibly high and "little and often" pick ups are expected but daily, take everything, is not.

Thanks for helping us make this work and check in on those you know that are leaning hard on the community pantry and perhaps need something else.

Images:

Spot the difference. Pantry on the left is wrong, Pantry on the right is how we like it best. Thank you 🙏

07/12/2025

Our Food Drive for the community pantries is at Dickson Village Coles today until 3pm. Please help us to make this time of year easier for neighbours finding it difficult, by picking up an item or two from our shopping lists.

Ainslie Community Pantry
Braddon Street Pantry
North Lyneham Community Pantry
Lyneham Community Pantry
O'Connor Community Pantry
Watson Community Pantry

We love how supportive our communities are, drop by and say hi and drop off your donations.

Huge thanks to our special friends of the Ainslie Community Pantry who like to play shop all the shopping lists, who donated a trolley load 🛒. Any items are so gratefully received.

Thanks to Amy at JLL property managers, Dickson Village, Coles for hosting us. Thanks to Roseanne at for organising and Mohammad at Helping ACT for making it possible. Thanks to our lovely volunteers Chrissy, Kathleen, Rachel, Margie, Hnin, Amy, and Heidi

Thank you so much to everyone that helps keep us well stocked with supplies, Christmas is a really busy time as other services have a close down period🙏

Photos of the team at the drive this morning: Amy, Rachel, Margie, Chrissy, Kathleen, Hnin

Friends of Ainslie Community Pantry who love to shop all our essentials lists 🙏🥰

06/12/2025

Christmas can be a lot. We want to make sure we share joy and make sure our neighbours that find this time of year difficult, a little easier. It's a busy time for Street pantries as other services close over the Christmas break.

We love our Food Drives that help the six Inner North Pantries stay stocked. It makes it easier for our busy volunteers, and easier for our community to donate.

We love hearing the many thanks from shoppers, thanking us for being there so they can support our Inner North Pantries.

We are so grateful to Dickson Village and Amy at JLL for hosting us, to Roseanne at for her unending and enthusiastic support and Mohammed at Helping ACT for making it possible. Thank you again to our volunteers for making sure they run smoothly, Chrissy, Kathleen, Steph, Pam, Amy, and the little people that stop by.

Join us over the weekend and donate food for the:

Ainslie Community Pantry
Braddon Street Pantry
O'Connor Community Pantry
Watson Community Pantry
North Lyneham Community Pantry
Lyneham Street Pantry

Saturday 6 December & Sunday 7 December
⏰ 10:00am to 3:00pm both days
📍 Dickson Village Foyer (near Coles)

What's useful to donate?

We'll have shopping lists for you to pick a few items to donate. Things that were looking for:

Cans of food: fruit, beans, vegetables, soups, tuna, chicken, coconut cream, sauces
Staples: pasta, rice, sauces, soap, shampoo/conditioner, tooth paste, tea/coffee , toilet paper, long life milk
Ready to eat: muesli bars, crackers, chips
Spreads: Vegemite, peanut butter, jam
Images: Pam's Pantry Pam with Christina at the Coles Food Drive

Chrissy and Steph at today's Food Drive at Coles, Dickson

05/12/2025

Our volunteers work really hard to make sure the pantry shows love and care. It's a tough job with little thanks or recognition. We know that we couldn't run the pantry without them. We owe so much to these fabulous, generous, kind hearted people who keep the pantry open, take down supplies, tidy up, sort out rehoming non-food or toiletry items, who foster and encourage community mindedness. It's not easy, these are special people that we owe a debt of gratitude to. Thank you, thank you!

Supplies and daily check-in team: Amy, Kristie, Lee, Jaeme and Kate

Can donations: Amy, Anna, Amy C and Valonia Apartment residents

Bread runners: Jess and Andrew, Jodes and Chris, Anna and Amy

Fruit & Veg team: Sam, Kathleen and Amy, Carol with donations of excess from Havelock House

Bakers: Carol and Minh

Dog food bagging: Tia

We also have amazing support from Pam at Pam's Pantry and Roseanne Howes from who help us with BBQ fundraisers and food drives (see us this weekend at Cole's!). Pam helps us with period products, pet food and any items we're short on!

We're part of a wonderful Inner North network, Chrissy at O'Connor who fundraises with fun events, runs our social media and brings the network together; Kathleen at Watson, Kate at Braddon, and newly joined Heidi at North Lyneham and Chris at Lyneham.

Huge thanks to every member of the community that helps with food, toiletries, tidying up, donating cans, money, removing things that shouldn't be at the pantry, who model what "community looking after community" looks like. You make it easier to keep going on the tough days.

Thank you to all our pantry volunteers, seen and unseen. You're the best.

From the Ainslie Community Pantry Team.

05/12/2025

Come by and say hi ❤️🎄

If you're planning to do some grocery shopping this weekend - please consider Dickson Coles and Woolies! We'll be in front of Coles in Dickson this weekend, 10am to 3pm, holding our Christmas food drive ❤️🎄

What is this food drive?
Many organisations close over the end of year/new year break - and our inner north pantries see a hefty increase in demand over this time. The food drive - where people popping into woolies or Coles, get that extra can of fruit or that extra bread spread like jam or Vegemite, or that extra jar of pasta sauce - and drop it by our table.

This allows us to help stock the street pantries in the inner North that bit more over the break, to help our neighbours in need.

Who are the inner North pantries?
Ainslie Community Pantry
O'Connor Community Pantry
Watson Community Pantry
Braddon Street Pantry
North Lyneham Community Pantry
Lyneham Community Pantry

These are all street pantries, looked after by local volunteers on a daily basis, to help any neighbours in need. Open 24/7, all year, these are judgement free street pantries ready to help.

Help us help our community ❤️

What's useful to donate?
We'll have little shopping lists to share, but if you're wanting to know:
Cans of food: fruit, beans, vegetables, soups, tuna, chicken, coconut cream, sauces
Cereal: smaller in size such as WeetBix and oats
Staples: pasta, rice, sauces, soap, shampoo/conditioner, tooth paste, tea/coffee , toilet paper
Ready to eat: muesli bars, crackers, chips
Spreads: Vegemite, peanut butter, jam

06/09/2025

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

The Father's Day crate is up at the Ainslie Community Pantry , if you're able to donate any little things that might be great for the father figure in people's lives ❤️

There are also some kind gifts that our volunteers have collected, ready for those who wish to offer gifts, but aren't able to at the moment.

Let's help our community and our neighbours enjoy and celebrate 🥳