Little Free Pantries Bring Toronto Faith Groups Together to Assemble 1,000 Soup Kits

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, Toronto community members gathered at the Toronto Ontario Stake Centre of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a shared mission: to assemble 1,000 soup kits for individuals and families in need. This humanitarian effort brought together area groups Sharing Sacred Spaces, Little Free Pantries and the Toronto Ontario and Brampton Ontario stakes, reflecting a collective commitment to address food insecurity and support vulnerable populations across the region.

With one in 10 people in Toronto facing food insecurity and accessing support through local food banks, the need to find ways to feed those who are hungry and love our neighbours has never been more important.

The Hearty Harvest Soup Kit project began when the Toronto interfaith group Sharing Sacred Spaces heard about Little Free Pantries and wanted to support these community pantries by filling them with meals in jars. The soup kits — containers of dry soup ingredients — require only the addition of hot water to create a warm, nutritious meal that can feed two to four people.

The kits are placed in “little free pantries” throughout the Greater Toronto Area. These pantries are community-based resources that offer access to nonperishable food items for anyone in need. The pantries are a supplement to traditional food banks, accessible 24/7 and often found outside of local churches or community centres. Anyone can take a meal or leave food for others.

The event involved community members working in assembly lines to add lentils, rice, split peas and seasonings to a container. Each container was labelled with cooking instructions. Beyond meeting their goal of preparing 1,000 meals, participants enjoyed having conversations with people of various faiths and getting to know one another.

The organizing committee from Sharing Sacred Spaces included Reverend John Joseph Mastandrea, Manor Road United Church Congregation; Les Tanaka, Buddhist Church; Mandeep Singh, Gursikh Sabha Gurdwara; Earl Smith, Church of Scientology; and Latter-day Saint Kim Tylka. The group was joined by 70 members of the Toronto Ontario and Brampton Ontario stakes, including youth, young single adults, missionaries and adults.

< Paul Baui of the Eglington Ward invited his ward’s youth to attend the activity. “It was an amazing opportunity for the community to come together to do a good service with people of all ages,” he noted.

We should do more of this more often,” added Church member Edianny Gomez. “People want to do something to help.”

“It was so beautiful to see people come together,” said Tanaka. “I am so blown away by it all.”

“Life is a group effort. None survives alone,” shared Smith. “We need each other, and it is our love for our fellow beings and our desire to help anyone that brings us here tonight. You think maybe these things don’t help, but this can be a start to help someone.”

Singh expressed his gratitude: “Thank you to this community for organizing such a meaningful event. It exuded generosity and dedication and is truly inspiring.”

In a world where it sometimes feels like problems and hardships overflow and that a person has little power to do much to make it better, the simple act of filling jars might not seem like it will make much of a difference,” said Tylka. “But uniting with members of many faiths shows that love and small acts of kindness can go a long way and give hope to both the giver and the receiver.”

Julie Nelson, communication director for the Toronto Ontario Stake, added, “It is such an incredible experience to be able to work alongside so many of our faith and various faiths across the city in a single goal and purpose. It is humbling to see what we can do when we work together.”

Read the story in French