One of the startling findings of my research when I was preparing to write my first novel, PAINTED WINDOWS*, was just how many homeless—OOPS! I mean unhoused (got to be politically correct!) and hungry—OOPS! I did it again! I meant to say food insecure!—individuals there are in rural areas, my own small farming community included. While chronicling teenage Ruby’s experiences as unhoused and food insecure in PAINTED WINDOWS, I learned there were unhoused persons living in barns, outbuildings, and abandoned houses in my own area, and they scrounged for anything that resembled food. So, when I passed the local church in my community on Saturday morning and saw that a “Blessings Box” had been erected in front of the church, I was ecstatic! The only problem was...it contained only a few items, which I quickly remedied with a trip to the local grocery, filling the available space!
What is a Blessings Box? It is a mini pantry located in an individual community where anyone can anonymously leave items, including non-perishable food items, diapers, toiletries, and so on, for those who may be food insecure or unhoused. Where is not realistic for such persons to travel to a centralized food bank, the Blessings Box brings the needed items to those in need. Anyone can leave items, and anyone can use the items. It is a remarkably beautiful system. And so simple!
Interestingly, as I was doing a little research on the origins of Blessings Boxes, I found that many people and organizations take credit for this ingenious addition to neighborhoods and communities. I read accounts where Blessings Boxes were started by the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church Women’s Missionary Union in 2017. I then saw another article originating the Blessings Box concept in 1953 with the Christian Women’s Fellowship: they provided Blessings Boxes to collect excess change and money. However, the varied accounts all seem to point to one origin: each Blessings Box serves as the inspiration for others to spring up in other needed areas! Thus, the “mini pantry movement” (said to have started in 2018) has spread throughout our Nation. This is the type of contagion we want (but wish we didn’t need)!
There are even registries of Blessings Box locations on Facebook and on the web. Just Google your location. Some estimate over 1,500 existing Blessings Boxes, but with new ones being erected daily, I personally believe than number is GROSSLY underestimated, and many boxes may not yet be listed!
We have seen the prices of fuel, building materials, and utilities soar. Now we are stunned each time we enter the grocery by the ever-increasing prices of food and household goods. I know my pocket book has taken a tremendous hit, being stretched by the escalation of prices, and it leaves me wondering about those individuals and families living paycheck to paycheck . While previously not food insecure or unhoused, they may be facing challenges very similar to those populations. Think about it… What is it like to have to make choices about your basic needs? Heat to stay warm, shelter to keep the elements off, gas to get to work, or … food? Sadly, I imagine food is last on the list of basic necessities. More and more of our population are and will be making such tough decisions if things don’t change. And the Blessings Boxes may empty quicker and quicker, blessing far more people than ever imagined.
I added my items to the Blessings Box on Saturday. Not even two days later, Monday morning I passed the Blessings Box and its shelves were almost bare again! A very stark and shocking reality.
Be generous if you can! We are in this world together. Let’s take care of each other!
As said in Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
Love and Blessings,
Gera
*PAINTED WINDOWS is the first novel in a three-book series called The Gunpowder Series. This novel and its sequels can be found in paperback or as an eBook on Amazon.com. Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read for free! Also, check your local library to borrow a copy! If they don’t have it, request a copy!