Hamilton Helping Hands - Free Little Pantry

11/01/2025

Good Afternoon Neighbors and Pantry Stewards!

🚨 Safety Reminder 🚨

Please do NOT place perishable items such as meat, sandwiches, yogurt, cheese, opened items and expired food in general in the pantries as it is a SIGNIFICANT food safety risk and could make our neighbors sick. We know people mean well but everyone deserves SAFE food. We don’t want to jeopardize our mission.

Our pantry friend and Community Advocate Reegan Shafer cleaned out several contraband items this morning from the Northside library pantry and provided these photos. Thank you, Reegan for letting us know! But alas we have done similar cleanups in the past.

Please help us spread the word to only put approved and safe items in our pantries. The need is greater than ever right now and you can be a part of helping your neighbors.

Have a wonderful Day!

10/26/2025

You know that feeling after a nice new hair cut and style…feels just like this!! 💇‍♀️ 💅 😊

The Hamilton Pantry got for a little glow up today after needing some desperate paint, cleaning and maintenance. And just in time with the increased need in the community.

In this time of increased food insecurity, please donate where you can, not only to your little free pantries, but to the larger pantries that do so much good for our community!

Our pantries are only a small little piece to a much greater process that groups like Hunger Task Force, and Wafer do every day.

 A huge, thank you to all groups and neighbors who donate and have kept the little Free pantries going the past several years! 

Washburn Little Free Pantry
Powell Poage Hamilton Neighborhood
Washburn Neighborhood in La Crosse
Hamilton Elementary School
Hamilton Early Learning Center PTO
Holy Trinity-Longfellow Neighborhood Association

10/26/2025

Doing some much needed maintenance on the Hamilton Pantry today so if looking to donate, please see one of our sister pantries at the Northside Library or Our Saviors Church!

06/11/2025

Summer meal program is up and running again! Thank you Emplify Health by Gundersen for continuing this yearly summer service to neighborhood families!

LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Emplify Health by Gundersen has launched its free summer meal program, providing breakfast and lunch to children 18 and under at no cost.

08/25/2024

Good evening Pantry Stewards and Patrons, I apologize for the delay in posting this update, but the pantry at Longfellow Middle School has been sadly been asked to be relocated. It was removed earlier this week.

No worries, it is safely stored for now and we are working with the Holy Trinity – Longfellow Neighborhood Association to help find the Pantry a new home in their neighborhood! Thank you to all who donated over the past four years!

The Washburn Neighborhood Pantry that was in front of Lincoln of course also had to be removed as you may recall due to the school’s closure. Hopefully that rebuilt box will be reinstalled very shortly as well in the Washburn neighborhood.

But the Pantry at Hamilton is still going strong and is always in need of donations along with the Pantry at the Northside Library.

We are looking for additional volunteers to help invigorate the program so if you’re interested, please reach out to us at this page or at [email protected]

Thank you for your support and understanding.

08/08/2024

This summer, New Castle Title held a food drive for the free little pantries in town. Last night they were able to stock our pantry, the Northside library pantry, North Presbyterian's pantry and the main library pantry. Thank you for your hard work.

08/07/2024

Thank you to Washburn, PPH and Downtown Neighborhoods for hosting a great National Night Out event tonight and providing donations for the pantry! We appreciate it so much!

Washburn/Lincoln Little Free Pantry
Washburn Neighborhood in La Crosse
Powell Poage Hamilton Neighborhood
Downtown Neighborhood Association - La Crosse, WI

04/09/2023

How does one respond when two teens continuously vandalize the pantry? You fill your wagon and go clean and stock the pantry.

You also try and talk to said young men and tell them they are welcome to use the pantry, when they start to respect the pantry. As they walk past you as you clean.

We’re going to work with the SRO’s and NRO’s to try and make some positive changes here, but don’t let bad situations keep you for helping others. We don’t know what path has lead them here. Maybe we can be part of a solution.

We haven’t posted in a while, we hope this day of celebration and spring warmth fills your day. Be well.

01/30/2023

Friendly reminder that canned goods should be avoided this time of the year at the pantries. Please see our list of cold weather friendly items!

Please stay warm and safe everyone!

Washburn/Lincoln Little Free Pantry
Holy Trinity-Longfellow Neighborhood Association

01/01/2023

Thanks to Proper Pokes Body Piercing’s Third Annual Holiday Food Drive, we were able to ring in the new year with some pantry stocking!! Great weather for it too! Thank you for the continued support!!

While right now the temps are ok for canned goods, but make sure to start stocking up on cold weather friendly donations to the pantries if the negative temps return!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Washburn/Lincoln Little Free Pantry
Washburn Neighborhood in La Crosse
La Crosse Public Library
Holy Trinity-Longfellow Neighborhood Association
Powell Poage Hamilton Neighborhood
North Presbyterian Church - La Crosse, WI
La Crosse Neighborhoods, Inc.
La Crosse Longfellow Middle School