Roman Espinoza is an Army veteran from Waterton, New York who is ensuring that nobody in his community goes hungry by building a food pantry for the homeless right in his front lawn.
Roman calls the pantry his “Blessing Box,” and it is open 24 hours a day. The box is full of items from anyone who wants to donate, and it is open for anyone who needs it to use.
“Whether you’re taking or giving, you can just go to the blessing box,” Roman said when he first set up his box in 2017. “There’s not a lock on it — it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Roman Espinoza stands beside his “Blessing Box,” which allows residents of Watertown, New York, to donate and take food as needed.???#MyStreetInspiration pic.twitter.com/9FvjfPRFou
— MyStreetInspiration (@bestforstreet) June 25, 2019
Roman, 48, came up with this idea while taking classes at his local community college. While working on an assignment, the veteran found out that the school had a food pantry for students in need.
“I was like ‘wow, I did not know that colleges have food pantries,'” he said, adding that he was shocked at how “naive” he’d been. “I just assumed that if you could afford to go to school, then you could afford to eat.”
Inspired by this, Roman created his “Blessing Box,” which has been kept going through donations by his community.
“All in all, it’s sustained by the community, and it’s used by the community,” he explained. “There’s no age limit; there’s no paperwork. We will not take any monetary donations. And next time, when you’re doing a little better, you can come drop some things off in return.”
Roman said that the box has more than just food now, as it also has items that “make sense” like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and shampoo. He added that the box is there “just in case…so kids and adults don’t go hungry. Nobody should feel embarrassed because we all need a little help.”
We applaud this veteran for going above and beyond to help his community!
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.