Lower Saucon Township Council recently approved the installation of two new blessing boxes–one at Town Hall Park and one at Steel City Park. The boxes will serve as micropantries, and members of the community are invited to donate to and pick up items from them as needed.
Lower Saucon Township will soon install two new “blessing boxes,” which will provide anonymous access to food and other essential items for community members in need.
The blessing box initiative was organized by members of the Hellertown/Lower Saucon Neighbors helping Neighbors Facebook group, who presented the idea to Lower Saucon Township Council at their May 19 meeting. Council approved the project, giving its organizers the green light to build and install two new blessing boxes, one at Town Hall Park on Old Philadelphia Pike and the other on Riverside Drive at Steel City Park.
Blessing boxes are a type of community micropantry, where residents can drop off items such as non-perishable food, household supplies like paper products and cleaning supplies, health/hygiene products, baby food/items and other essentials.
Members of the community are invited to take what they need from the cupboards, which are accessible 24/7.
The Neighbors helping Neighbors Facebook group is already managing four other blessing boxes in the Hellertown area.
Existing Hellertown blessing boxes are located at:
- Hellertown Borough Hall, 685 Main Street
- Dewey Fire Company, 504 Durham Street
- First United Church of Christ, 501 Northampton Street
- Christ Lutheran Church, 69 Main Street
When the pandemic struck in 2020, Kristen Lockett, a member of the group, said group members noticed the blessing boxes were emptying more than usual.
“These items help people who need support or are homeless in our area,” Lockett said. “We are just a group of community members offering small donations of these items for our neighbors in need, with no questions asked.”
Blessing boxes are currently located at four community institutions throughout Hellertown, including this box on the grounds of Chris Lutheran Church located at 69 Main Street. The others are located at First UCC, Dewey Fire Company and Hellertown Borough Hall.
Lockett worked with fellow group members to decide on Town Hall Park as one location for a new blessing box. She then attended a Lower Saucon Township Parks and Recreation committee meeting, where board members suggested installing a second box at Steel City Park.
“I was thrilled by the overwhelming support from the parks and rec members,” Lockett said.
The project’s organizers are asking for the community’s help to build and install the two new blessing boxes. A Genius page has been set up, which individuals may use to arrange donations of materials such as plywood, plexiglass, wood screws and other items needed for constructing the boxes.
Once the materials have been collected, Lockett said construction will begin right away. Individuals interested in helping build the boxes can email her at kl******@ya***.com.
“We are eager to get these installed as soon as possible,” she said.
Lockett also recommends that those interested in volunteering follow the new Hellertown/Lower Saucon Blessing Boxes Facebook page to stay up to date.
Members of the community use the page to share updates about the blessing boxes and alert others when a box is running low on supplies.
