If you head to the Caldwell Police Department, you may notice a new box inside of the foyer. It's called the Blessing Box, and it's a mini food pantry for those in need.
"We leave the box open for non-perishable items, canned goods, dry foods, spaghetti, toiletries, toothbrushes, and things of that nature," said Lt. Joey Hoadley.
After working with the Caldwell Police Department in a patrol capacity for the last 16 years, Lt. Hoadley said he noticed quite a few people out on the streets at night who might appreciate some extra food during hours that the food pantries were not open, but he wasn't sure how to help, that's when he and his wife were watching the news and saw other people from around the country trying to address hunger through blessing boxes, and they thought 'why can't we do that?'.
"When we recognized the need out there, I wanted to be able to help the community and so Mel and I partnered up with this idea. We had a good friend whose a master craftsman and was able to build this box for us," said Lt. Hoadley.
"I thought making Caldwell a better place and helping our community would be great for everybody," said Mylinda Hoadley, co-founder of the Blessing Box.
The Blessing Box is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is completely anonymous.
"We've already been getting donations," said Lt. Hoadley. "We've even had some elderly people who have called in and said 'Hey, I have food but I can't make it down there. We've sent people down to pick it up from them."
While it doesn't cost any money for people to get food, they also ask that people not take advantage.
"We do want people to know that there are other families out there so our motto is take what you need leave what you can. If you do need a bunch of stuff, then great, take it all," said Mylinda.
If you would like to help sponsor a month of blessings, contact the Caldwell Police Department.
