Little Red Blessing Food Box seeks donations to expand across Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The Little Red Blessing Food Box, a community food-sharing initiative launched in Lexington in 2020, is seeking monetary donations and volunteers to help expand its reach across Kentucky and eventually into other states.

Cynthia Buckner founded the Little Red Blessing Food Box during the pandemic to address food insecurity in Lexington. What started with a single red box on Alexandria Drive has grown to 10 locations, with two more currently in the works.

“We are up to number 10 now. We’re working on 11 and 12,” Buckner said.

The goal is far more ambitious than a dozen boxes. Buckner wants to place at least one food box in each of Kentucky’s counties.

“We wanna do one for each county, so we want to do at least 120 more,” Buckner said.

To make that happen, Buckner says the organization needs financial support. The Little Red Blessing Food Box does not receive grant funding and relies entirely on private donations.

“We’re really in desperate need of monetary donations because we don’t have a grant. Or anything like that, we’re funded off of just donation, private donation people give me,” Buckner said.

Beyond financial contributions, the organization is also looking for additional help.

“We definitely need volunteers that could help build the boxes,” Buckner said.

The food boxes are designed to be accessible and judgment-free.

“You can just come up here and get what you need or bring stuff and and then just go. We don’t ask any questions at all, but we do just ask that you don’t take the whole box,” Buckner said.

Once Kentucky is fully covered, Buckner hopes to take the mission beyond state lines.

“It’s just a joy and such a blessing that I thank God that he allowed me to be the one that he chose to do this project,” Buckner said.

Information on food box locations and how to donate or volunteer can be found at linktr.ee/littleredblessingfoodbox.