Word ’Round Town ~ Butterfly Moments
WAUKON, IOWA ~ Sometimes, it doesn’t take a big building, a grand gesture, or a whole lot of fanfare to make a difference in someone’s day.
Sometimes, all it takes is a little box, a helping hand, and a community willing to care.
And tucked inside the entrance of What’s New? Thrift Store, at 15 1st Street NW in downtown Waukon, there’s a little white wooden pantry with a message that says so much in just a few words.
“Take what you need. Leave what you can.”
Those simple words are at the heart of Waukon’s new Little Free Pantry, made possible through a partnership between Black Hills Energy and What’s New? Thrift Store.
A Little Ribbon ~ A Big Beginning
On October 2, 2026, community members gathered for a ribbon-cutting and food-stocking celebration to welcome this new resource to Waukon.
The little white pantry, topped with a black roof and decorated with a bright orange ribbon for the occasion, might look simple enough.
But its purpose reaches far beyond its wooden walls.
It’s a place where neighbors can share food and essential items, helping make everyday necessities a little more accessible to others.
And behind that little box is a story of people working together to make a difference.
A Little Idea With a Bigger Purpose
Waukon’s Little Free Pantry is part of a growing initiative by Black Hills Energy to bring food and essential household items closer to neighbors who may need a helping hand.
The effort began in Denison, Iowa, and has expanded into additional communities in Iowa and Nebraska.
Waukon became the seventh location in the company’s Little Free Pantry initiative, which aims to establish pantries throughout its service districts.
The program also helps connect residents with information about energy assistance resources, including LIHEAP and Black Hills Cares.
It’s an approach that recognizes something important: the challenges families face don’t always come one at a time.
Sometimes, having a little help with groceries can make room in the household budget for another necessity.
And sometimes, knowing where to find assistance can make all the difference.
Neighbors Working Together
The Waukon pantry came together through the efforts of Black Hills Energy and Arvid and Laurie Hatlan, owners of What’s New? Thrift Store.
Arvid, who serves as Waukon’s mayor and also works as a Black Hills Energy service technician, helped connect the company’s initiative with a welcoming location right in the heart of town.
The thrift store’s enclosed, temperature-controlled entrance offered an especially useful place for the pantry, allowing it to be available to neighbors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
And with that partnership, another little place for kindness found a home in Waukon.
Take What You Need ~ Leave What You Can
There’s something especially meaningful about the idea behind a Little Free Pantry.
No long list of questions.
No complicated process.
Just neighbors helping neighbors.
Anyone may take what they need, with no questions asked. And those who have a little extra are welcome to contribute food or essential items for someone else.
A few cans of soup, a box of pasta, or other shelf-stable groceries may seem like small things.
But to someone who needs them, those little things can make a meaningful difference.
And for someone who has a little extra to share, it’s an opportunity to turn an ordinary act of giving into something that reaches another household.
The pantry is built on trust, kindness, and the willingness of community members to look out for one another.
A Community That Keeps Finding Ways to Care
What makes this little pantry special isn’t only the food that may find its way onto its shelves.
It’s the thought behind it.
It’s the people who helped make it possible.
And it’s the hope that neighbors will continue keeping it stocked and available for others.
The partnership between Black Hills Energy and What’s New? Thrift Store is another example of how people and businesses can work together to meet a need close to home.
Because helping doesn’t always have to be complicated.
Sometimes, it begins with someone asking, “What can we do?”
And someone else answering, “Let’s do it.”
A Little Butterfly Moment ❤️🦋
There’s something about that little white pantry that makes you think.
You may never know whose supper was made a little easier because someone left a few groceries.
You may never meet the person who placed something on the shelf.
And you may never know how much one small act of kindness meant to the person who came along afterward.
But perhaps that’s the beauty of it.
Not every good deed needs recognition.
Sometimes, the greatest gifts are the ones quietly passed from one neighbor to another.
And in Waukon, a little wooden pantry is offering another place for that kindness to happen.
A little box. A simple message. And a whole lot of heart.
Because sometimes, the smallest things we share can make the biggest difference. ❤️🦋
Little Free Pantry Location: What’s New? Thrift Store, 15 1st Street NW, Waukon, Iowa.
Availability: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Community Partners: Black Hills Energy and What’s New? Thrift Store.
Pantry Message: Take what you need. Leave what you can.
Word ’Round Town ~ Butterfly Moments 🦋
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Keep Goin’ ‘Round Town
There’s always another story waiting just around the corner.