You've probably seen the containers around Indianapolis advertising free food. They're brightly painted and usually are made out of old newspaper bins.

The boxes belong to the Community Food Box Project, a local nonprofit working to give Indianapolis residents free and easy access to food.

This year, the organization is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. A fundraiser will help the nonprofit continue its work and offer more for the community, including cooking classes and food policy education.

The fundraiser is 6-9 p.m. March 7 at Southeast Community Services, 901 N. Shelby St. There will be food and a salsa dance lesson. Tickets start at $39.

Community Food Box Project

The founder, Sierra Nuckols, said the project started as direct mutual aid.

"It was all about just getting food to people immediately when they needed it," Nuckols said.

The organization is still doing that. There are 86 food boxes scattered throughout Indianapolis. But it has also grown into something larger over the last 10 years.

Food advocacy. Policy education. Teaching people how to grow their own food.

Sierra Nuckols

The group is working with people who learned to farm in their home countries in Central Africa and now grow produce in a garden in Haughville. The food feeds their families and neighbors.

Looking ahead, Nuckols sees opportunities to do more.

For example, not every food box is stocked. The organization relies on sponsors and partnerships to provide food. And Nuckols prefers to local businesses and organizations, rather than rely on large grants.

"We really do want to focus on local and small," she said. "That keeps us autonomous."

Central Africa

Aside from the food boxes, Nuckols wants to host community dinners, where people can get something to eat and talk about how to end food insecurity. A 2025 survey from Indy Hunger Network found 53% of people in Marion County experienced food insecurity. That could mean they were skipping meals or didn't have enough money to buy food.

Nuckols also wants to expand the garden in Haughville and start cooking classes.

The Community Food Box Project website is being rebuilt. Nuckols eventually wants to have an interactive map of food boxes.

For now, you can find food box locations on the group's Instagram and Facebook.

It was all about just getting food to people immediately when they needed it.

Reading the wider picture

Costs, supply and public patience all move at different speeds, and the friction between them is where most food-industry stories actually begin.

What to remember

  • "It was all about just getting food to people immediately when they needed it," Nuckols said
  • The group is working with people who learned to farm in their home countries in Central Africa and now grow produce in a garden in Haughville
  • Aside from the food boxes, Nuckols wants to host community dinners, where people can get something to eat and talk about how to end food insecurity
  • Nuckols also wants to expand the garden in Haughville and start cooking classes
  • The Community Food Box Project website is being rebuilt

By the numbers

  • It has also grown into something larger over the last 10 years
  • A 2025 survey from Indy Hunger Network found 53% of people in Marion County experienced food insecurity

What people ask

What should you know about Community Food Box Project?

The boxes belong to the Community Food Box Project, a local nonprofit working to give Indianapolis residents free and easy access to food.

What happens next?

A fundraiser will help the nonprofit continue its work and offer more for the community, including cooking classes and food policy education.

All told

Every change in the food industry eventually reaches the same test, which is whether people keep choosing it once the novelty has worn off.