Roman Espinoza built a blessings box and filled it with pantry items to help families in need. He based it on the idea of the free libraries popping up.
Watertown, New York – Roman Espinoza has come up with an idea to feed his neighbours who may be too ashamed to reach out for help. He decided to build a pantry which he installed on his front lawn.
He filled it with useful staples in the hoped that people would use it. He modelled the idea on the popular little libraries that have popped up all over the world. The concept is that people can add items to the box or remove what they need. He was interviewed by CNN and hopes it inspires more people to give back to their communities.
“Whether you’re taking or giving, you can just go to the blessing box,. There’s not a lock on it — it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
“The box itself is for the community and it’s sustained by the community. The community, the neighbourhood and my block have been really supportive.”
“We try and put stuff in there that makes sense — toothpaste, toothbrushes, band-aids….some soap and shampoo,”
Roman doesn’t watch the box, instead lets people use it anonymously, so they don’t feel ashamed for needing the extra help.
“We don’t know who uses it — sometimes people feel like they are embarrassed to use the box in the middle of the day,”
“I woke up recently and I had to put food in [the box] because someone came by and needed food,”
The kindness is spreading, and people have started approaching Roman to install the blessings box on their lawns as well. He has big hopes for the future.
“I’ve gotten a couple of requests from people around town for boxes for their property,” Espinoza said. “With any luck, we’ll have a few around town where people can be made aware of them and make use of them.”
“Watertown, New York, in the next five years, could be known as the city of blessing boxes,”
This concept is very similar to our very own famous retired police officer who planted fresh vegetables for the community to harvest when they needed.
If the libraries are doing well in South Africa, this concept will probably do just as well.
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