With a fluorescent vest, construction hat and a wagon, 12-year-old Averi Bailey set out to trick-or-treat with a twist this year. Instead of candy, Averi went from door to door in Alexandria collecting non-perishable food items for the Hands and Feet Movement nonprofit.
Miranda Bailey, Averi’s mom, said she came up with the idea after paying attention to the recent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit news. With the government shutdown, the SNAP benefits of over 19,000 Licking County residents did not renew on Nov. 1, and local food pantries are experiencing a noticeable uptick in first-time families.
“That’s where the thought came from, benefits are going to stop coming,” Bailey said.
Read more: With SNAP benefits on hold, Licking County food pantries see increase in customers
Bailey said she initially hoped her 14-year-old son would take on the task of collecting goods during Halloween. But he was a little more timid than his sister, and Averi, a seventh grade student at Northridge Middle School, quickly accepted the role.
Averi, dressed as a construction worker, held a sign that Bailey posted on Facebook to raise awareness about the project. The sign read “Beggars Night for a Cause: Collecting Can goods for Hands and Feet movement Blessing Boxes.”
Bailey’s Facebook post was well received: “Everybody was like, ‘That’s a great idea, we’ll have cans waiting for her,’” Bailey said.
On the night of Halloween, Bailey parked her car by the Alexandria Public Library blessing box, encouraging residents to leave their canned good donations. When the Baileys’ returned to their car after trick or treating, they found donations left under the car.
Because of the preemptive Facebook post, many residents recognized Averi in her construction outfit. As she approached, they handed her items like boxed macaroni, bags of rice and extra large candy bars for her efforts.
“Some people didn’t have canned goods, so they gave me one big candy bar,” Averi said. “They were like, ‘I don’t have canned goods, but this is for you.’”
Averi initially planned on carrying the canned goods in her bag, as Halloween tradition requires. However, the bag became very heavy after only a few stops. Luckily, Bailey remembered the wagon.
“Every time I’d get some (cans), it was way too heavy,” Averi said. “So I just put them in the wagon.”
Some other trick or treaters felt inspired to donate after seeing Averi collecting goods. Without any cans to donate, some trick or treaters pitched in by tossing their candy into Averi’s wagon.
“They didn’t have any canned goods, but when they saw what we were doing, they donated their candy to our wagon to donate to the blessing box,” Bailey said.
At the end of the night, after stopping by 30 houses, Averi collected enough non-perishables to fill the back seat of her mom’s car. Among the rice, macaroni and cans, residents also donated the ingredients for birthday cakes.
All of the food Averi collected on Halloween went to Alexandria’s blessing box, near the Alexandria Public Library. The blessing box, along with three others in the area are the creation of the Hands and Feet Movement: a local nonprofit organization founded by Nikki and Brad Higgins.
Nikki Higgins, a former Northridge school nurse, saw firsthand the needs of the community through the students she cared for.
“Whether it was food insecurity or people needing help with utilities or housing problems, or just people in hard situations, I saw that need,” Higgins said. “My husband and I would do things out of our own pockets, oftentimes, because we wanted to help.”
In 2021, Higgins decided to take her efforts a step further.
“I had a very memorable experience when I was taking food to a student’s porch after they had had a super hard time,” Higgins said.
As she walked away from the porch and to her car, Higgins said she was inspired to repeat to herself: “Be the hands and feet of Jesus, be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
“I went home that day, and I told my husband, ‘Enough talking about it, let’s start this,’” Higgins said. “We started our nonprofit in 2021.”
The Hands and Feet Movement serves Johnstown, Northridge, North Fork and Utica. Throughout these areas, Higgins and her husband placed four “blessing boxes.” These are free, miniature pantries that anyone can access. Higgins and her husband shop each week to fill the boxes with food. Higgins tells people to take what they need, and leave what they can.
Higgins said the boxes that are the most successful are the ones that the community takes over, stocking it themselves to ensure their neighbors are fed.
“Something phenomenal that happens is that some of the people that came to take stuff out of the blessing box, not only did they take stuff out, but they put things in it they had at home,” Higgins said.
While Higgins fills the boxes each week, community members are also welcome to give whatever they can, inspiring Averi and her mom to collect goods for the boxes during Halloween.
“When a kid like Averi wants to help out, we are all in, because that’s the kind of stuff that we love,” Higgins said. “We want people out there helping their community, so that was really exciting for us.”
When asked if Averi plans on trick or treating for canned goods again next year, she said absolutely.
“I knew it made a difference,” Averi said.
Next up for the Hands and Feet Movement this year is its winter break care package project. The organization will make care packages for families in need over winter break, when they can’t access school breakfast and lunch.
“We know that the students of a lot of families that are in need and are kind of underserved, they get breakfast and lunch for free, or at least reduced at school,” Higgins said. “What we do is we take a laundry basket and we fill it with tons of lunch and breakfast foods and activities, and we’re hoping that helps to make that two-week break from school more doable for these families that need a little help.”
Higgins will make 30 baskets in total this year: 10 each from Johnstown, Northridge and Utica. Higgins has an Amazon and Walmart wishlist on the Hands and Feet Movement website for people to donate to the baskets. Donations and wishlist purchases can be made at https://handsandfeetmovement.org.
Maddie Luebkert writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.