BY MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey
“A lot of people have lost jobs, so they need the extra help. We are a big retirement community, so we have a lot of seniors here who are living on Social Security. A lot of the homeless community are here as well.”
Kelly Lyle
The holiday season’s giving blitz is waning, as typically happens this time of year.
But the need hasn’t.
That’s why just a few days after Christmas, Kelly Lyle and her son Micheal were on a mission, loading her blue Ford F-150 pickup with bundles of food in the parking lot of the the Life Community Center in Wesley Chapel.
Helping out was Terence Gaston, Food Ministry Coordinator at Life Community Center, a food ministry that serves central Pasco and is tucked amid the mobile homes in the Angus Valley community.
PHOTO|MICHELE MILLER
A lot of people have fallen on hard times, Terence said. “Some people have lost jobs and are trying to transition back. They’re not looking for hand outs. They’re looking for a hand up.”
That hand up sometimes comes with donations of canned goods and other non-perishable food and toiletry items that stock six “Blessing Boxes” installed at various sites in Zephyrhills.
Amie Deford got the first Blessing Box installed two years ago at the Zephyrhills First Church of the Nazarene on 12th Street, where her husband, Nick serves as lead pastor.
Blessing Boxes follow the concept of Little Free Libraries that have become a neighborhood trend in recent years. In this case, instead of lending or borrowing a book from a neighborhood library box, people can take or leave a donation of food for someone else.
“Several years ago we had seen one on our adventures,” she said, adding that she liked the idea so much that she asked the church board to install one on the property.
Five more Blessing Boxes were recently added after Amie noticed a box of Frosted Flakes cereal tucked in with the books in a Little Free Library located at the Women’s Club.
“I realized we needed more blessing boxes in the community,” she said. “I felt called by God to do more. I spent time in prayer. I reached out to Home Depot to see if they would be able to donate lumber.”
Amie recruited woodworker Ben Poe to build the boxes and reached out to local churches and organizations to ask for permission to install them on their properties.
“I had some ‘no’s’ and an overwhelming number of “yes’,” she said. “They don’t have to take responsibility for stocking it. You literally build it, install it, and the community fills it up.”
The boxes help supplement local efforts such as East Pasco Meals on Wheels, Food and Fellowship at Zephyr Park, and the food pantry at First Presbyterian Church, Amie said.
“A lot of food pantries are open only certain times. With this you can go by and pick up a box of macaroni and cheese or peanut butter at any time – day or night. It’s a good resource in that it allows you to give what you can and take what you need. It’s an honor system.”
Kelly Lyle happened across the boxes weeks ago, saw they needed a little help, and decided to up donations via pleas through social media posts.
The Lyle family, who moved from upstate New York to Zephyrhills ten years ago, has long taken part in altruistic efforts with Toys for Tots, Farm Share and Wreaths Across America.
PHOTO|MICHELE MILLER
The Blessing Boxes became a new outreach.
“I check them out every single day to stock them, and at least half are almost empty, so they are getting used,” said Kelly, who lost her job after the family travel agency closed with the pandemic.
People responded. Some asked for addresses for the boxes so they could drop off donations. Some sent monetary donations to purchase food. The Life Community Center reached out to become their biggest donor.
“I think it’s wonderful that Kelly jumped in. It just goes to show what a community can do,” Amie said. “Kelly and the others filling these boxes are literally the hands and feet of Jesus.”
The Blessing Boxes are a way to try to fill a need in the immediate community, Kelly said.
They are open 24/7 so there’s no specific time frame to adhere to, she said. “It helps with dignity, too. People are proud. A lot of people have not been in this position before. “
“I think they help a lot of people that work at times that food pantries are open, but are not making enough to put food on the table every day. A lot of people have lost jobs, so they need the extra help beyond unemployment. We are big retirement community so we have a lot of seniors here who are living on Social Security. A lot of the homeless community are here as well.”
Kelly would like to get a few more Blessing Boxes installed in other locations in Zephyrhills and perhaps, beyond.
“People are asking, “How do we get one here?” she said, adding that she’s gotten inquiries from all over the Pasco County, including New Port Richey.
Turns out, it’s up to them, said Amie Deford.
Maybe with a little assistance.
The next step is to compile a list of supplies and directions to distribute to those who want to build their own Blessing Box.
But first things first.
“I would say that you have to ask permission to make sure that’s what your city wants,” Amie said, adding. “We asked the city and they did not want one in their control, but organizations, nine times out of ten, they say yes. “
NOTE: Blessing Boxes are presently located at the First Presbyterian Church on 19th Street, Awake Wesleyan Church of C Avenue, First United Methodist Church on Fifth Avenue and at the East Pasco Meals on Wheels’ new location on 15th Avenue and at Hatfield’s Country Music and Restaurant on Gall Boulevard.
About the Life Community Center in Wesley Chapel
According to the Life Community Center website the ministry partners with Feeding Tampa Bay, Save-A-Lot, Costco, Publix and Children’s Baptist Home to provide thousands of pounds of food to those in need. Over 550 families are served at two distribution sites in Wesley Chapel and Spring Hill.
Other ministries include a stay-in-school program for youth, community lunches, special events, and a grant program for those needing help with utilities, rent and other emergency expenses in exchange for their time.
