NORTH ST PAUL, Minn. — When the pandemic first hit Minnesota, Rachel Thompson wanted to help her neighbors in North St. Paul.
So she took a bookshelf and some boxes, filled them with food, and created a "Little Free Food Shelf" in her front yard.
The sign in front of it read, "Take what you need, leave what you can."
The Little Free Food Shelf ended in mid-April. Now in November, Thompson has a new project to help local families during the holiday season.
"I obviously don't have excess but I have enough and I just want to be sure that other people have enough too," Thompson said.
On the night before Thanksgiving, Thompson put up a Christmas tree in her front yard. All over the tree, tags are attached.
Each tag has an item requested from a local family in North St. Paul, Oakdale or Maplewood. Then people from the community stop by to pick a tag, purchase the gift requested and then bring it back to Thompson who will then deliver the gifts.
Thompson calls it the "NSP Christmas Tree Project."
Thompson has split items requested by families to make it easy for anyone to help out.
"If everyone can contribute a little, somebody gets a lot," Thompson said.
Thompson has set a limit of 15 families to start. As of Thanksgiving morning, she had two spots left on the tree for local people. If those requests are fulfilled, she will add more.
"I'm touched by the things people ask for. I have a lot of requests for gas cards, food cards, diapers, really the essentials that most of us take for granted. So no expensive electronics, nothing like," Thompson said.
During a rough year, Thompson said she's thankful for the all the people who want to help each other.
"I think we're so divisive right now as a society, as a country, that I love to see people coming together and help out others," she said. "I just think it's fair to take care of the people around you."
Those who would like to help, can stop by 2727 9th Ave E. North St. Paul to pick up a tag. Thompson also hopes people will bring decorations to hang on the tree.
If you can't make it out to North St. Paul, you can Venmo Thompson: @Rachel-Thompson-122. For those dropping off gift cards, she encourages people to get them from local businesses.
Local families in North St. Paul, Maplewood and Oakdale can make a request by emailing NSPchristmastreeproject@gmail.com by Dec. 9. All donations need to be made by Dec. 15.