After eleven years of operation, Burrito Brigade(parent to the Little Free Pantries, Waste to Taste food boxes, and the Weekend Burrito Brigade) has purchased a building to permanently house and expand its projects. The new location is in the Whiteaker neighborhood, and at  8,699-square-feet, offers significantly more space than BB’s current rental location.

While the purchase of the building has been funded by grants and private donors,  the small non-profit is still raising funds to the tune of $65,000 to build a kitchen and replace the roof. Executive Director Jennifer Densen expects that construction will last a year or more, with operations continuing as usual at their rental location in the meantime.

“The possibilities are endless,” Densen said when asked what the vision will be for the new space.  She hopes that the size and expansiveness of the space will mean offering meeting space upstairs, storage in the warehouse, and additional food resources to other community groups.

According to Densen, another notable difference between the current and new location is that in the future there will be an outdoor pantry and cold fridge, holding ready-to-eat snacks and meals for passersby, in addition to the current system of appointment-only food box shopping.

Burrito Brigade is a small nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon that has been operating to reduce food insecurity since 2014. Starting as a group of people making and passing out vegan burritos on the weekend, BB has since expanded with more than fifty Little Free Pantries in the Eugene area, and the Waste to Taste food box program. Waste to Taste is a free grocery “store” where shoppers fill a box from a selection of groceries that would otherwise have been thrown away.

“On the one hand, the fact that there is such a massive need for basic groceries, and that more and more people rely on our services to get a meal, is really sad and messed up. But I’m glad we’ll have more space to do more work together on getting our neighbors basic needs met.” – M, Waste to Taste volunteer.