DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — A front yard food pantry in Northwest Detroit, inspired by a mother's loss, is struggling to keep up with growing demand as more families turn to it for essential food supplies.
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Nicole Lee started the NW Detroit Blessing Boxes in 2022 after losing her son Spencer Adams to a drug overdose.
What began as a single red box has expanded to six, but even that isn't enough to meet the current need.
"I'm just a lady who gives away food, I'm not a non-profit, nothing like that," Lee said.
The motto is simple: "Leave what you can, take what you need." But lately, the boxes aren't staying full for long.
"Even three or four months ago, we were down to maybe seven families a day. I'll have days now where I'll have 15 people in the first 10 minutes, 15 families in the first 10 minutes, so the foot traffic is crazy right now," Lee said.
For Andrea Rosales, a mother of six children, these blessing boxes are essential to feeding her family.
"Trust me, I've had countless nights where if it wasn't because of Nikki and this blessing box, it wouldn't be such a good night," Rosales said.
Lee believes part of the increased demand stems from federal assistance cuts.
"People tell me all the time when they come here that they've lost food stamps, or unemployment, or whatever source they have that's keeping them going," Lee said.
The problem is compounded by a decrease in donations.
"There were places that I was getting stuff from twice a week that I'm not getting from maybe once a month, and it's because they're not getting what they used to get," Lee said.
Despite these challenges, Lee remains committed to her community.
"It's hard, but we're still making it happen every day," Lee said.
For residents like Kim, the blessing boxes are a lifeline.
"We just can't keep up, and without her, a lot of days we just wouldn't make it, really honestly, we wouldn't make it," Kim said.
Those interested in donating to Nicole's Blessing Boxes can go to this link here.
If you're in need of assistance, the blessing boxes are located at 11640 West Parkway St., Detroit, MI.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
