By Heather O’Neill

What began as a small grassroots effort in a Richmond District courtyard has grown into a neighborhood institution serving about 200 people a month – with one resident’s determination rippling across the community.

Cristina Manzanares, founder of Pantry 38, started rescuing and redistributing food in January 2022, during a period of pandemic-era need and food waste.

Manzanares is no stranger to food scarcity. She grew up in a home where sometimes her family did not have what they needed to get by. That made her sensitive to the waste she saw around her and made her determined to do something about it.

Now, her work has evolved into a newly formed nonprofit with dreams of making it even bigger.

“I never thought in a million years that this would hit my heart as much as it has,” Manzanares said. “It’s given me so much motivation and fuel to just keep it going.”

Pantry 38 – named for its location near 38th Avenue and Fulton Street – operates out of Manzanares’ courtyard and provides groceries to Richmond District residents through a private Facebook group.

The project’s roots trace back to another community effort. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Manzanares was part of a Facebook-based mutual aid network called Miracle of Giving, where volunteers helped rescue surplus food that otherwise would have been discarded.

In many cases, she said, the food came from retail stores, food distributions and pop-up pantry sites that had more product than they could use or store.

“There was just so much waste,” she said. “Tens of thousands of dollars on a weekly basis of food, just in our little bubble, that’s going to be tossed for absolutely no reason.”

When a woman in that network put out a call for someone in another neighborhood to help distribute excess food, Manzanares raised her hand. She talked it over with her husband, expecting hesitation. Instead, he immediately said “yes.”

She began picking up bread and dry goods, bringing them home and posting them online for neighbors to claim. What started as a once- or twice-a-week effort quickly became something bigger.

“I just fell in love with it,” she said.

At first, the pantry was simple: a few shelves, some bread, a modest setup outside. But word spread. Soon, merchants, food banks and other organizations in and around the Richmond were reaching out directly to donate more.

Today, Pantry 38 has eight steady volunteers, along with a broader circle of community members who help with pickups, setup and distribution. The operation has also received major support from neighbors and local businesses. An electrician donated time to install outdoor plugs. An 8-by-8-foot shed was donated to help store food safely. The courtyard was redone to improve safety and flow. Refrigerators, freezers and tables have all helped transform the space into a functioning neighborhood pantry.

“Our neighbors have been amazing,” Manzanares said. “Actually, quite frankly, the entire block has been great.”

That neighborhood cooperation has been essential, because Pantry 38 operates in a residential space and depends on careful coordination. Over time, Manzanares and her volunteers created rules to keep pickups orderly and fair.

In the early days, people sometimes took more than they needed, she said, driven by the uncertainty and fear that marked the height of the pandemic.

“There was just that sense of worry,” she said. “It was pretty intense.”

Eventually, the team introduced time slots, check-in procedures and limits on some items to avoid long lines and ensure that more families could benefit.

The pantry now works like a mini farmers market. Members of the Pantry 38 Facebook group sign up for a pickup window, arrive during their assigned slot and move through a series of tables staffed by volunteers. Some items are unlimited; others have limits depending on quantity.

The only eligibility requirement is that recipients live in the Richmond District. There is no income screening and no documentation required.

“I don’t need to know what people’s situations are,” Manzanares said. “I want people to come here and feel safe and feel that they have dignity.”

That emphasis on dignity is deeply personal.

Manzanares said she grew up on the Peninsula as the youngest of three children in a single-parent household. Her mother struggled financially, and food insecurity was a constant part of childhood.

“I have very clear memories of heavy food insecurities, financial insecurities,” she said. “We struggled.”

Those experiences for Manzanares helped the pantry became more than a volunteer project.

“If I can give them what I didn’t have – even just some relief of, like, ‘Hey, my kids have a normal lunch and snacks like the other kids,’ – that means everything,” she said. “I know what it feels like to feel different in that way.”

Manzanares is a mother of two daughters and helps run Dragon House MMA, a Daly City-martial arts business she founded with her husband. Before leaving the workforce to care for her children, she worked as an accounting manager in the software industry. She said the decision to step away from that career was difficult, but it ultimately opened the door to the work she does now.

That work increasingly reaches beyond her own block.

During the recent educators’ strike, Pantry 38 stepped in to help provide groceries and snacks to families, students and teachers affected by school closures. Manzanares said the pantry supplied easy-to-prepare foods such as packaged macaroni and cheese, crackers, chips, granola bars and fresh produce when possible.

Her team also set up grocery-style stations at schools including Presidio and Lafayette so teachers and families could pick up food while dealing with lost wages and disrupted schedules.

Local partners helped make those emergency responses possible. Grocery Outlet on Geary Boulevard, she said, has been a particularly strong supporter.

Even after weekly distributions end, the pantry’s work continues. Manzanares said leftover food is often redirected to Richmond schools, where teachers or staff members pick it up for school communities. In other cases, it is set out in informal free markets so parents can grab what they need. The goal is simple: Keep usable food out of the trash.

This year marked another major milestone. In February, Manzanares officially made the pantry nonprofit.

She said the move will allow the organization to expand its reach, seek grants, formalize donations and eventually build programs beyond food rescue, including backpack drives, school supply drives and holiday meal efforts.

“Pantry 38 will always be the heart of our mission,” she said. “To rescue food that’s unnecessarily going to be thrown away and redistribute it to the community.”

For now, she is taking that growth one step at a time, with help from neighbors and friends. Volunteers have created the non-profit’s logos. Her brother, a professional photographer, is helping out with the website and her daughters help pass out groceries.

But the heart of the project remains the same as it was on day one: neighbors helping neighbors, with as little waste – and as much compassion – as possible.

On a recent Friday evening, neighbors of all ages gathered in her courtyard, all greeted with a smile and oftentimes a big hug from Manzanares. No one left empty handed or downtrodden, which she said is her main goal in the project.

“I don’t want anyone to feel belittled or ashamed of their situation,” she said of the people who use the pantry. “You’re a neighbor. You’re human and you’re somebody that deserves respect.”

Find Pantry 38 online @helpinghandsofsf_pantry_38 on Instagram and at Pantry 38 on Facebook. To inquire about volunteer opportunities or to make a donation, contact Cristina at Cristina@HelpingHandsSF.org.