How It Started
Tiny Pantry Times began with Jennifer Parker, who saw a simple need in her own neighborhood during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a small pantry in her front yard quickly became something much bigger.
As the pantry grew, so did the people who came alongside it. Adam Parker became part of the logistics journey, helping support the work as Tiny Pantry Times expanded and found new ways to serve the community.
Together with neighbors, volunteers, donors, and community partners, Jennifer and the Tiny Pantry Times team have continued building on the idea: Take What You Need, Share What You Can. The foundation of neighbors helping neighbors.
The need didn't disappear when the pandemic did. Neither did the commitment to help.
The Woman Behind The Vision
Jennifer Parker is an educator, leader, and community builder whose career has always centered around helping people thrive.
Jennifer serves as an Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology Instructor at Johnson County Community College, where she has also served as Chair of the Life Science Division. She has spent her career educating and empowering others, and when the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a diffferent kind of need in her own neighborhood, she responded in the way she knew best by helping.
The pantry didn't replace her work as an educator. It became another way for her to educate, advocate, lead, and serve.
Today, Jennifer continues to balance her career with the organization she built, surrounded by a community of volunteers, their Board, donors, partners, and neighbors who believe in the same simple idea that started it all: neighbors helping neighbors.
Our Board of Directors
Jennifer Parker
Executive Director
Cheryl Grann
Assistant Executive Director
Adam Parker
Food Recovery Director
Keith Fitzsimmons
Treasurer
Laura Fitzimmons
Secretary
Dorris Kissee
Volunteer Coordinator
Pat Powell
Information Officer
When We Outgrew The Pantry
As more neighbors discovered Tiny Pantry Times, the community's generosity grew right alongside it. Food donations expanded, fresh produce became part of what we could offer, and the little pantry could no longer keep up with the needs of the community.
It was time to grow.
Tiny Pantry Times moved into a larger space in gracious collaboration but separate from the Overland Park Christian Church. This gave us room to serve more neighbors, accept more donations, and build a stronger foundation for the future.