One of my favorite parts of my neighborhood is our Sharing Box, a small outdoor pantry where neighbors can put things to share and take what they need or want. Since Advent coincided with our new puppy’s ability to go on longer walks, we have used the Sharing Box as a destination multiple times a day (It’s a few blocks away–just enough for a little walk) and used Advent as an opportunity to share more. We set our goal of sharing once per day, and we’ve mostly kept it up.
Here are some things we’re sharing during the cold month of February.
- canned soup with pop-tops
- boxed soup
- crackers
- in-season citrus fruit (dropped off in the morning before the temperature freezes)
- tins of sardines
- double-bagged Ziploc quarts of homemade curry
- frozen pizzas (during our run of below-freezing days, marked on the outside with the moment of delivery so that folks know how long they’ve been in the box)
- single-serving size bags of chips
- individually wrapped tea bags
- packets of hot cocoa mix
- boxes of almond milk
- bottle of hot hot sauce
- a can opener
- box of cake mix + a 9×13 pan to bake it in
- small bag of apples
- extra toothbrushes and sample-sized floss and toothpaste picked up from the dentist
- bars of soap
- winter pajamas we’ve outgrown
- hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens we’ve outgrown
- decks of cards, including Uno and Skip-Bo
- candles
- Valentine’s Day cards for kids to share at school
- bag of individually-wrapped Valentine’s Day candy for kids to share at school
- recent issues of magazines
- this week’s local newspaper
- repurposed shaker bottle (like from Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast) filled with sidewalk salt
- costume jewelry that a child might like to give to their mother or grandmother
- a doll
We love our sharing box!
Family Foxhole 