Lileana is a single mom of two, and has a job that pays her, and a place to call home, giving her and her children stability, something Lileana is keenly aware that not everyone has.
On November 2, 2025, the day after the federal government stopped SNAP benefits and froze food assistance for 360,000 residents in Connecticut, Lileana repurposed a plant stand she had in her garage and put food items on it for passersby to take.
Within hours, the stand was empty. So, she kept replenishing it, and with the help of generous neighbors and using her own family’s food budget, the pantry continued on. She shared with me in an interview, “I didn’t need to use the money I’d budgeted for my family that week, because we still had enough food. So, I went into the grocery store, and used that money to buy things for other people, and then put it on my lawn. I bought things like cereal, things that would last.”
Like many of us, myself included, there was a time when Lileana received food stamps to help her provide for her family. Being on the receiving end of government assistance often is met with some shame, a kind of defeat, and an indescribable sense of helplessness. Far too often as a parent, one’s bank account forces you to choose between maintaining a roof over your head and putting food into the belly of your child.
Lileana’s food pantry, called The Neighbors’ Nook: Little Free Pantry, is open 24/7 and provides help to families to make the burden of food insecurity a little less heavy. There are times when there are few options for the taking, but there is always access.
“If you have a job, and you can’t leave at noon to get to a food pantry’s short window of when they are open, to get food for your family, then what do you do?” she said. “I’ve had people come to my house at 11pm. Maybe they were just getting off of a shift, or maybe they didn’t want anyone to know, but the pantry was open for them.”
To access The Neighbors’ Nook LFP, there are no questions asked or intake forms to fill out. “Take what you need,” Lileana says.
Since opening, the pantry has helped over 100 people with food, whether it be a box of cereal, a bunch of bananas, or a snack for a little boy on his walk to school each morning. There is always something on the table for the taking.
Naturally, during the holiday season, donations came in from generous neighbors and organizations like Real Food CT and Food Rescue CT, which have helped sustain the pantry.
“There is very little there because Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed, and people have stopped donating as much. But the need for food assistance has not gone away; people still need food,” Lileana said.
Lileana is giving dignity and hope to hearts (and bellies) within Stratford. She is stocking food for everyone, but reminds us all that the South End of Stratford is a food desert, a place where low-income families live with few options for healthy and affordable food.
Lileana Torres knows what it means to show up for people, even after the holiday season has ended. She invites you to help her. You can email Lileana to ask how you can help. You can drop by her house and leave a food donation. Obodo Serendipity Books will accept non-perishable donations for The Neighbors’ Nook for the next three months (January – March) if you’d like to drop off any food items or hygiene items.
It doesn’t take much to help a neighbor. And you don’t need to go far to make a true impact. Learn more about how you can join the Little Free Pantry movement, help Lileana, and donate to The Neighbors’ Nook by dropping off a non-perishable food item at the bookshop on Paradise Green.
