GRANITE FALLS, N.C. —  There's a way people can get food completely anonymously, and it started during the pandemic. One woman created Care & Share Blessing Boxes when she discovered a need. Now, she needs help keeping it going.

Susan Woodie says the food in the back of her truck cost $300.

“I did not grow up with a family that had a lot of money. My dad at age 5 became disabled and had to stay home. My mother was a secretary,” Woodie said.

She started working when she was 15.

“My favorite sandwich growing up was the mayonnaise sandwich because we didn’t have anything to put in it at the end of the week,” Woodie said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, she recognized a need in her own community. She saw boxes around town that used to hold real estate listings. She turned the boxes into a nonprofit known as the Care & Share Blessing Boxes.

“It was a tough start, but people knew there was a need, and it grew fast,” Woodie said.

It quickly grew to 28 boxes in Caldwell and Catawba counties. One was placed at Philadelphia Lutheran Church.

Sponsors take care of the boxes and fill them up, but whenever she can, Woodie buys food as well and goes around putting her own food in boxes. The fill-ups, she says, don’t last long.

“They will be empty before the day’s over, more than likely,” Woodie said.

She drove to Anchor Church and brought food and toiletries to Pastor Rocket Barber.

“To be able to clean up and take care of themselves and have the basic human dignity of human hygiene — that’s phenomenal,” Barber said.

Hollow Baptist Church Pastor David William agrees.

“When prices go up in the grocery stores, they can’t afford it and have to make decisions,” Williams said.

In 2022, 10 of the 28 sponsors pulled out because they could not afford to keep filling the box. Now, Woodie needs help in the form of donations or sponsors to keep the program afloat.

You can contact the organization on its Facebook page.