Blessing Box at St. Aiden-St. Patrick Perish - Cumberland, Rhode Island - Little Free Pantry on Waymarking.com

The Blessing Box at St. Aiden-St. Patrick Parish in Cumberland, Rhode Island, is a sizeable free community pantry offering food plus a whole lot more.

A wood plaque adorns the top edge of the front face and reads:

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED
BRING WHAT YOU CAN
ABOVE ALL BE BLESSED!

This self-serve, extra-wide, two-shelf cabinet, built by a local Boy Scout and his Troop, was installed and entered service in October 2021. Painted light brown with white trim, the unit is topped by an asphalt shingled shed roof. A sturdy pair of wood posts holds it in place beside the sidewalk near the main entrance to the church. Its double door frames are filled with plexiglass to show the contents, which were neatly packed and filled the entire space the day of my visit. The provisions and supplies included:

• Personal care items - toothpaste and feminine hygiene products
• Warm clothing accessories - scarves, gloves, and hats
• Canned goods - beef lasagna, mackerel in brine, peas, corn, tuna fish, and soup
• Dry items - hot and cold cereal, tea, pasta, spices, and cake mix, frosting, and disposable aluminum baking pans

Helpful elements found on the outside of the case:

• Two laminated pages of local resources listings - mental health, legal, veterans services, meal sites, housing and voter ID assistance
• A suggestions box
• A box for grocery bags
• An engraved metal plaque recognizing the Scouts for constructing the box
• ...and a letter from the pantry's enthusiastic, organized, and fully-committed steward, who I was fortunate to meet the day of this visit:

Welcome to the Cumberland, RI Blessing Box Project, located at St Aiden/St. Patrick Parish, 1460 Diamond Hill Road., Cumberland, RI 02864.

The Blessing Box Project is a community, grassroots effort of neighbor helping neighbor. The recipient maintains their privacy while picking up free items on their own schedule. Thank you, Alex Rodrigues and Diamond Hill Scout Troop 1 for your tremendous support in getting this project completed!

Unite with us to pass our blessings on to our neighbors!

Take what you need..leave what you can...together we can be a blessing hand!

BLESSING BOX DONATION GUIDELINES:

1. Please help stock the Blessing Box with non-perishable food such as pop-top canned foods or individually packaged snacks, toiletry and hygiene items, baby care items, bandaids, school supplies, socks, gloves, toothbrushes, etc.

2. Please be mindful that the items could stay in the box for a period of time. Best not to leave things that could expire or will go bad in the heat or cold - NO GLASS ITEMS, please!

3. This is not a place for expired food items. If you wouldn't use it yourself, please don't leave it in the box.

4. Handwritten notes spreading a message of kindness and encouragement is welcomed.

5. Please do not leave trash behind and please make sure the door is closed when finished.

First and foremost respect the privacy of anyone in the area.

Post at least one photo taken during your Waymarking visit along with your comments about the LFP or your visit.