Meet Our Founder, Benji
Benji did not set out to start a movement.
He set out to feed people.
For as long as he can remember, food has been his language of love. Food is comfort. Food is connection. Food is what brings people back to the table when everything else feels uncertain.
When families in his community began food for days, and trying to survive in silence, he made a choice.
He activated.
What started as grocery runs funded out of his own pocket quickly became nights spent delivering boxes until 11 p.m., mornings buying meat and produce before work, and group messages filling with requests for help.
He refused to shrink. He refused to wait for permission. He refused to let fear dictate who eats.
People often describe Benji as intense.
He calls it awake.
Awake to injustice.
Awake to suffering.
Awake to the reality that silence has never protected vulnerable communities.
His leadership is not about spotlight or applause. It is boots on the ground. It is loading trucks. It is knocking on doors. It is locking eyes with parents who are trying not to cry in front of their children.
But what matters most to him is this:
He is not alone.
What began as one person’s response has become a growing network of volunteers, donors, drivers, organizers, and neighbors who share the same conviction: every human being deserves dignity, safety, and access to food.
This work is deeply personal. It is emotional. It is exhausting. And it is purpose.
When this chapter ends, something new will begin.
Because this is not a temporary reaction.
This is a calling.
About Us
Benji’s Pantry Comunidad did not start with a business plan.
It started with a decision.
A decision not to look away.
A decision not to stay comfortable.
A decision not to let families go hungry while fear kept them inside.
When immigrant and Latino families in our community began sheltering in place, too afraid to work, too afraid to leave home, too afraid to ask for help, we stepped in.
This pantry operates out of homes, cars, group chats, spreadsheets, and relationships. It is grassroots in the truest sense of the word. It is community-powered. It is underground when it needs to be. And it is built on one simple belief:
We take care of each other.
In just weeks, what began as one person delivering groceries has grown into a large-scale operation serving hundreds of families across the metro area. We provide:
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Meat and culturally familiar staples
Infant formula and diapers in specific sizes
Hygiene products
Pet food
Emergency essentials
We do not hand out random boxes.
We pack intentionally.
Every family is different. Allergies matter. Cultural foods matter. Babies matter. Dignity matters. We prioritize fresh, whole foods families will actually cook and eat. Survival is not enough. People deserve nourishment that feels like home.
This is not charity.
This is protection.
This is solidarity.
This is responsibility.
Every dollar donated. Every item from our wish list. Every volunteer hour. One hundred percent goes back into feeding families and keeping them afloat. We stretch every resource because we never know how long the need will last.
And until it’s safe for everyone to breathe again, we will keep going.
This is history.
Years from now, when people ask what was done in this moment, the answer will not be comfort.
It will not be neutrality. It will not be silence.
It will be this.
Neighbors opening their doors.
Cars packed with food.
Strangers becoming family.
Communities refusing to let one another disappear.
This is what humanity looks like when it chooses courage over fear.
And when this chapter is written, it will say that we did not stand by.
We stood together.
Contact us
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