Name: Prairie Commons
Address: 1540 E Central Ave, Wichita, KS, 67214, US
Telephone: +1-316-555-0161
Price range: Free

The three pantries nearest you

People asked us not to make them sign up for anything, so this does not. Put in your ZIP and we list the three nearest pantries, when each opens next, and what to bring. Nothing you type leaves this page.

Your three nearest pantries show here, with today's hours. No ZIP handy? Call (316) 555-0161 and we will find one with you.

$0

Every pantry and the Commons Market are free, delivery too. Nobody here is called a client.

Who can get food

Some people told us they stayed away for months because they thought they needed papers. You do not. You tell us how many people you are feeding and we take your word for it. No ID, no pay stubs, no questions about where you were born. Visit any pantry once a week, and the Commons Market every time it is open.

Carrying it home

Bags, a box or a laundry basket, about 30 lb of food
A cooler in summer, for milk, eggs and meat
Your ZIP and household size, that is all we ask

At the pantry door

Check inTell a volunteer your ZIP and how many people you feed. That is the whole check-in.
Choose your foodWalk the shelves and take what your family will eat. Drive-throughs load a box. Say if there are allergies.
Take extra produceFruit, vegetables and bread on the open table have no limit. Fill the bag.
Come back next weekWe keep your ZIP and nothing else, so next week is quicker still.

Thirteen pantries in seven towns

Thirteen pantries are open to the public. Nine more school and senior programmes serve their own members.

Wichita7 pantries, one open every day
El DoradoMon to Sat mornings
AugustaTue and Thu afternoons
DerbyWed evening, Sat morning
AndoverThu evenings
HaysvilleMon and Fri late mornings
Valley CenterSat mornings

Map of Sedgwick and Butler counties with Wichita at the centre, marked with the number of public pantries in each town — Pins show how many public pantries each town has.© OpenStreetMap contributors

Where a donated dollar went in 2025

91¢Food, transport and cold storage: 91% program spending in 2025

6¢Staff, insurance and the two trucks

3¢Fundraising and administration

$1 = 4 mealsBecause we buy at wholesale and rescue the rest

Form 990 for 2025 (PDF) Annual report 2025 (PDF) Audited financials (PDF) Audited each year by an independent CPA firm. Our EIN is on every receipt.

Give once, or monthly

Every dollar buys four meals. Growers told us they would rather plan around a truck that comes every week, and monthly gifts are what let us promise a route a year ahead.

Giving food instead

Most needed this week, in order:

Peanut butterplastic jars
Canned tuna or chickenpull-tab lids
Cooking oil48 oz or less
Diaperssizes 4 to 6
Period productsany brand

Drop off at the east dock door, 1540 E Central Ave. Mon to Fri 8 am to 4:30 pm, Sat 9 am to noon.

We cannot take glass, anything home-canned, or food that is opened or past its date. Growers with 200 lb or more, call and we will send a truck.

30-day refundChanged your mind? Reply to your receipt within 30 days and we refund the gift in full, no reason needed.

Your gift goes where you sayA gift marked for produce or for one town is spent there, and we tell you in writing how in January.

Your name stays with usWe never sell, rent or swap donor names. Receipts for gifts of $250 or more arrive by January 31.

Volunteer shifts

Pick a shift, leave your name and email, and you are in. December fills in a day. Most of the year we are short on Saturdays.

Before your first shift

Wear closed-toe shoes and layers; the cooler is 38°F. We give you gloves, an apron and a ten-minute walkthrough.

Ages 14 and up, or 10 and up with a parent on the same shift. Groups of five or more, call Lucia. Court-ordered hours are signed the same day.

Marguerite, here every Wednesday since 2014: “Hand the bag over and talk about the weather.”

How the food gets here

Most of what is on the shelves already existed somewhere in the two counties. Our work is getting it to the people who need it, before it spoils.

Rescue

Six days a week we collect from growers, grocers and distributors that would otherwise send surplus to landfill.

780,000 lb last year

Sort and store

Volunteers grade and pack it the same day. Cold chain kept unbroken, because produce is where the need is greatest.

4,100 volunteer hours

Distribute

Out to thirteen pantries, nine school and senior programmes, and the Commons Market, where anyone can shop with no questions asked.

22 partner sites

Staff and board

Four staff, one board of nine volunteers, and about 600 regular volunteers. These are the names on the emails, the forms and the Form 990.

Renata OlsenExecutive directorMPA, Wichita State. 14 years in food banking, here since 2019.
Dale WinslowWarehouse and food safetyServSafe Manager certified. CDL Class A. Runs the cold chain.
Lucia YbarraPantries and volunteersCoordinates all 13 pantries and every shift. English and Spanish.
Grace NwosuBoard chairRetired school nutrition director. On the board since 2018.
Martin HuangBoard treasurerCPA, 20 years in nonprofit audit. Reviews every Form 990.

Founded 2011. Registered 501(c)(3). The warehouse is inspected every year by the state food safety office and carries $2 million in general liability cover.

Google reviews

What neighbours say

Excerpts from our Google reviews appear here once the account is linked. This concept shows the empty slots, never made-up quotes.

What people asked us at the pantry door

Do I need ID or proof of income?

No. You give your ZIP and how many people live with you. Some federal foods ask you to sign a one-line form saying your income is under the limit; you sign it, we never check it.

How often can I come?

Once a week at each partner pantry, and the Commons Market every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning it is open. Extra produce and bread have no limit.

Can someone pick up food for me?

Yes. A neighbour or relative gives your first name and ZIP. If no one can come, we deliver to homebound seniors in Wichita on Fridays; call to set it up.

What kind of food will I get?

Most weeks: fresh produce, bread, eggs or milk, a frozen meat, canned protein and staples like rice and pasta. Shelves are labelled for diabetic-friendly, halal and gluten-free.

Will it affect my SNAP or other benefits?

No. Pantry food does not count against SNAP, WIC or any other benefit, and we never share who visits with any agency.

Most of these questions came from the Wichita pantries. We have heard far less from the smaller towns, and we will go and ask there next.

Street map of East Central Avenue in Wichita between Grove and Hillside, with a pin on Central marking the warehouse — Warehouse and Commons Market© OpenStreetMap contributors

Help line. Call or text (316) 555-0161, Mon to Sat 8 am to 6 pm.

After hours. Text the same number and we reply by 9 the next morning. If you have no food tonight, the emergency box by the east door is restocked every evening. Take what you need.

Holidays. Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1. Pantries add extra hours the week before each; changes are posted here two weeks ahead.

The warehouse on East Central

1540 E Central Ave
Wichita, KS 67214

Free parking in the lot on the east side, entered from Estelle. Market shoppers use the glass doors on Central; donations go to the east dock door. The Central Avenue bus stops out front.

Weekly hours
Day	Office and dock	Commons Market
Mon	8 am to 4:30 pm	Closed
Tue	8 am to 4:30 pm	4 to 7 pm
Wed	8 am to 4:30 pm	Closed
Thu	8 am to 4:30 pm	Closed
Fri	8 am to 4:30 pm	Closed
Sat	9 am to noon	9 am to noon
Sun	Closed	Closed

Come and get groceries. Here is who is open today.

Pantries open Tuesday