One Small Box-Years of Meaningful Tradition

It is the fall of 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elementary school student Ruby Gildersleeve is watching a fictional show about a young girl who uses ordinary objects to event new things. Inspired, she asks her father to bring home a box to use for her own invention. “By the time he brought it home, I was no longer interested in inventing,” Ruby, now in 7th grade, explained, “so I needed to find a use for it.” With the holidays around the corner, it dawned on her that collecting food for those in need might be a good substitute for a box initially fated to be the next great scientific innovation. “Without telling my parents, I put the box on our porch with a sign.”

Upon discovering what now sat outside their home, Ruby’s mother Erin was immediately on board. Ruby’s older sister Lucy also joined the cause. Thus, “Ruby and Lucy’s Annual Fall Food Drive,” taking place across their Blackbird Farms neighborhood, was born.

What started as a collection among a few immediate neighbors is now a yearly tradition across the entire neighborhood. After six years of practice, the Gildersleeves have it down to a science. In late October, they adorn their neighborhood with homemade signs calling for donations. “Help beat hunger,” reads one sign. “One can. Two can. Who can? You can…drive away hunger,” reads another.

Ruby and her friends also distribute flyers while trick-or-treating on Halloween, a frankly genius innovation in fundraising that could only come from the mind of a crafty young adult. Erin sends an email to all their neighbors, letting them know that once again, they will be collecting donations for Food Finders.

Over the next two weeks, the empty, large cardboard tote on their porch overflows with donations, taking over the entire front of their home. To show their appreciation, the Gildersleeves put out packets of hot chocolate for neighbors to take upon dropping off their donations.

The Gildersleeves do not just collect the food from their neighbors, they also provide a significant amount themselves. Each year, Erin takes Ruby and her friends to fill two large shopping carts with food, which gets added to the mountain that slowly builds next to their front door.

Each year, they register their food drive with Food Finders so that monetary donations can come from generous neighbors through a QR code. They credit the Food Finders’ “Food and Fund Drive Planning Kit” with making the entire process quite simple. At the end, they share the results with their neighbors so that they can see the incredible results of their collective effort.

Then, on the final Sunday of their drive, the Gildersleeves load their car with all the donations. They bring the fruits of their labor to the Food Finders Warehouse first thing Monday morning.

“Last year, the car was so full, I was not sure there would be room for me,” said Ruby, who escorts the delivery.

What started as a small collection from neighbors has grown to gather 1,234 pounds of food in 2025. Since they began recording the results of their drive in 2022, the Gildersleeves have collected over 3,300 pounds of food and raised over $1,800, equating to 8,311 meals for their neighbors in need.

This year, they are aiming even higher. “Our goal is to collect enough food that we need to rent a truck,” explained Erin. They have even added a new pick-up service to make donating easier for their neighbors.

The Gildersleeves are also challenging other Lafayette-area neighborhoods to a friendly competition by seeing who can collect the most food. They may have a slight-edge with their six years of experience, but they are more than willing to share their playbook.

“Ruby, Lucy, and Erin are shining examples of how easy it is to make a difference for your neighbors when you set your mind to it” said Food Finders President/CEO Kier Crites Muller. “Look at the impact they’ve made by simply placing a box on their front porch – I promised Ruby that we’d send a truck to Blackbird Farms if they beat their goal!” “