On Sundays, Pastor Sam Lundquist preaches to the parishioners of St. John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond District about the importance of community.
If they ever wish to see him practice it, they just have to look out the church’s front door any day of the week. That is where Lundquist recently set up the Help Box.
The Help Box is a 30-year-old newspaper vending machine, transformed into a mini food pantry for the needy. Community members who wish to participate can place food, water, and other supplies in the box. Those who are in need, are welcome to take what they require.
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The idea began last Christmas when Lundquist asked parishioners to write down their hopes for the city on a paper ornament to hang on the church’s tree.
“I would say a good 50% of those were; 'I want to know my neighbors.' 'I want my neighborhood to feel like it cares for one another.' 'I want to feel like I live in a community and not feel like I'm an individual lost in the city,’” said Lunduist.
It wasn’t long after that Lundquist spotted a newspaper box in his neighborhood. It occurred to him that in the digital age, there must be plenty of old, unwanted newspaper boxes looking for good homes. There turned out to be not as many as he thought but Lundquist did eventually discover one gathering dust in the basement of a neighborhood coffee shop.
“I brought my car over. We loaded it up into the car and brought it back and some folks from the congregation. We spray-painted it one day. One of our kids helped put the letters on the front of it and got it all spruced up and got a new window for the front of it and put it all together,” said Lundquist.
Once refurbished with a glossy coat of green paint, it was instantly put to use. Helping the less fortunate since the day it was planted outside the church earlier this month.
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“I check on it every day that I'm here. I check on it every day that I'm here. Even more than what people are leaving we've had people come by and just be so excited about it. So excited that they now have a way that they can help,” said Lundquist.
"I think it is easy to look out into our city. To walk around our city and to be brought down or to point out all of the things that are wrong. It's another thing to get creative, to imagine something different, even more than that to do something.”
