Food pantries are on the frontline regularly encountering food insecure people and attempting to supply them with needed food. The covid-19 pandemic was a crisis of the gray rhino type, a high probability, high-impact event which should be anticipated but is often ignored until it occurs. Food pantries faced uncertainties and challenges in food distribution as the gray rhino of the pandemic charged, disrupting their normal patterns of supply and distribution. Twenty food pantry managers in Dekalb County, Georgia, were interviewed to learn how pantries met the crisis caused by the pandemic. They responded to the uncertainties and challenges with resilience resulting from government assistance, management decisions, dedicated staff, innovation, flexibility, community support and networking with other organizations.