Blessing Boxes: Mutual Aid in Our Communities Today

Find Out How These Simple Free Community Pantries Transform Neighborhoods and Promote Solidarity.

Hickory Street, Carrollton, New Orleans, 13 June 2023 Via Wikimedia

In neighborhoods across the country, small wooden or plastic cabinets known as "blessing boxes" quietly make a big impact. Blessing Box Global launched this initiative in 2018 to combat food and hygiene insecurity. Here’s their mission:

“We strive to fight food insecurity and the stigma around it through the use of Blessing Boxes. Sustained through community donations of food, and available to anyone in need, Blessing Boxes are passive and local systems through which people can get access to basic needs.”

Everyone feels inflation at the supermarket right now, not to mention housing prices and beyond. More accurately, corporations gouged prices so much that our budgets buy less than a third of what they did pre-pandemic. 

So many folks have to do with less or go without these days, a symptom of how capitalism squeezes every ounce of profit from us. How do blessing boxes help people fill the gaps?

These simple structures, often resembling oversized birdhouses or little libraries, are filled with non-perishable food, toiletries, and other essentials, freely available to anyone in need. But beyond their immediate practical value, blessing boxes represent a powerful form of mutual aid, fostering solidarity and resilience in our communities.

What Are Blessing Boxes?

Photo via the Nashville Blessing Box Network

Blessing boxes, sometimes called “community pantries” or “little free pantries,” are typically set up by residents, churches, or community groups. The concept is straightforward: “Take what you need, leave what you can.” This ethos creates a space where people can anonymously contribute to or benefit from the box, without the stigma or bureaucracy of traditional charity.

Unlike food banks, which are typically operated by large organizations and require recipients to meet certain criteria, blessing boxes are decentralized and open to everyone. They’re often strategically placed in areas where access to food and necessities is limited, making them an immediate lifeline for those experiencing food insecurity. Another consideration is to put them close to additional support services. 

The Mutual Aid Perspective

Image by Willy Verhulst via Wikimedia 

While blessing boxes are sometimes framed as acts of charity, they are more often understood as mutual aid—a practice rooted in solidarity rather than charity. Mutual aid emphasizes the importance of communities taking care of each other, rather than relying on top-down assistance from government agencies or large nonprofits.

They don’t have special rules or requirements to receive help, and they make decisions by consensus. In a mutual aid framework, blessing boxes are a manifestation of collective care. They are community-driven responses to systemic injustices like food apartheid and economic inequality.

By sharing resources directly with neighbors, blessing boxes help to build networks of trust and cooperation. This decentralized approach empowers people to support one another in times of need, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and interconnectedness.

Turning Food Apartheid into Food Sovereignty

Photo by Graywalls via Wikimedia

Blessing boxes are particularly impactful in combating food apartheid—a term that spotlights the intentional racial and economic disparities in access to healthy, affordable food. In many urban areas, low-income and predominantly Black and Brown communities are systematically denied access to full-service grocery stores, farmers' markets, and other sources of fresh food. Blessing boxes, though modest, offer a tangible way for communities to address this inequity from within.

Moreover, blessing boxes can be seen as small steps toward food sovereignty—the right of people to access healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods. While a blessings box alone cannot overturn systemic injustice, it can provide immediate relief and symbolize the broader movement toward self-determination and community control over food systems.

TN Blessing Boxes

Photo by Blessing Box Network - Nashville

Tennessee's history includes its economic inequities, particularly among communities of color. The state government isn’t inclined to move towards food justice, but locals built networks of community blessing boxes. Nashville, Murfreesboro, and beyond host their local blessing box networks.

Blessing box clusters can be found among several regions of Tennessee, alone. Our capital Nashville/Davidson County hosts several blessing boxes for the numerous unhoused folks. The adjacent Murfreesboro/Rutherford County hosts a robust array of blessing boxes. 

Jackson/Madison County runs its Give Back Jack program, with numerous blessing boxes. TN Fellowship UMC suggests these items for their blessing box:

• Canned meats, fruits, and vegetables – no glass containers.

• Plastic jars of peanut butter and jelly – lunch options for kids.

• Cereal boxes for families and/or individuals, oatmeal, grits, energy bars, and breakfast bars.

• Soups, spaghetti and sauce, mac and cheese boxes, beef stew, and packages of noodles.

• Toiletries – toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, feminine products, soap.

• Baby wipes, diapers, baby food.

Little Free Pantry compiles a map of blessing boxes registered in the contiguous United States. The TN Mutual Aid Map below documents other clusters of blessing boxes in Tennessee, like those in the Kingsport area.

Photo of TN Mutual Aid Map

Building Resilient Communities

Photo by Julia M Cameron via Pexels 

Start helping today by stocking a nearby blessing box with clean, unused non-perishable foods and sanitary items. If there are no blessing boxes, consider drawing up plans to build one in a high-foot-traffic area with landowner permission. Churches, libraries, community gardens, and downtown areas make great places for blessing boxes. 

In addition to providing material support, blessing boxes also play a role in strengthening community ties. The act of contributing to a blessing box can be deeply meaningful, allowing individuals to participate in a collective effort to care for their neighbors. This reciprocity builds resilience, as people come to see themselves as part of a community that has the power to support one another through difficult times.

Ultimately, blessing boxes are more than just repositories of goods—they are beacons of mutual aid and community solidarity. They remind us that, even in the face of systemic challenges, we can care for one another and build a better, more equitable world from the ground up. They help us to strengthen our communities as we work to change the systems that cause such poverty. 

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