Areas in Jackson County to receive if you are in need and give if you are able
Katie Hightower
Across Jackson County, various organizations and charitable individuals set up blessing boxes to help those facing food insecurity. Generous donors filled cupboards and outdoor refrigerators with ready-to-eat foods, pantry staples, baby items and even pet food so that people in need can pick up items any time and not feel the pressure of having to ask for help.
These charitable blessing boxes made a huge impact on the community and has helped countless people.
“Not everyone can qualify for assistance and I think it’s important to get the word out there where people can get help,” Amy Freeze said.
Freeze’s concern for the needy inspired her to make a post on Facebook about the boxes to get the locations of boxes across Jackson County available to anyone who needed help. The Jan. 22 post featured two locations of blessing boxes in Scottsboro and asked for people to comment with other locations. As of Jan. 30, there were no additional boxes listed on the post but the post was shared 11 times and had garnered attention from the community.
One location mentioned in the post was St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located at the intersection of S. Scott St. and College Ave. in Scottsboro. According to Rev. Polly Robb of the church, the box was typically stocked one to two times per day. The church partnered with the Alabama Food Bank for this endeavor. Because of the partnership with the food bank, the local Publix has regularly donated baked items and produce to their blessing box. Robb said that donors often filled the box with self-opening items for people who don’t have access to can openers.
“For years, Saint Luke’s has offered our Blue Box, with the hopes people will leave whatever food they can for others and take what they need. We stock this everyday with canned foods and boxed items, with bread and produce when we can and are grateful to others who stop by with donations for the hungry. Jesus said, ‘feed my sheep,’ and we take that seriously,” said Robb.
The other location mentioned in Freeze's post was the Garden of Hope’s box located on the side of the Jackson County Juvenile Probation office at 110 E. Appletree St. in Scottsboro. The box was the result of Gracie Zech’s Gold Star project for the Girl Scouts in 2022. It has remained an important source for those facing food insecurity ever since.
The Jackson County Sentinel has researched municipalities across the county in order to provide blessing box locations in the area to the public so that people in need can find resources and so that donors may know where they can provide needed items.
Other locations in Scottsboro include Holy Smokes Barbecue located at 108 Tupelo Pike and Kid’s First Pediatrics located at 23800 John T. Reid Pkwy. The box at Kid’s First was stocked with baby and toddler items and can be accessed during normal business hours.
In Hollywood, there was a box installed on County Road 33 in front of the Old Hollywood Plaza.
In Dutton, a box was started on Jan. 23 between Dutton Town Hall and the Dollar General. People have already started using it and it gets filled daily.
In Section, a box was installed beside Vicki’s Flowers and Gifts.
One church had a blessing box but due to its large demand, it wanted to remain anonymous. The church’s box was filled twice a day and was emptied within hours of being filled each time. Other municipalities did not have blessing boxes but had food pantries ran by various churches.
Anyone interested in filling blessing boxes may do so at any time. Items needed include non-perishable boxed food items, single-serve items, soups, crackers, canned goods, fresh produce not needing refrigeration, baked goods, diapers, wipes, baby formula, baby food and pet food.
