Food-access nonprofit 1Can cut the ribbon Thursday, Oct. 15, on a new 1,500-square-foot headquarters at 80 Spring St. in downtown Concord. The space replaces a pair of garage bays in Kannapolis that served as the organization's home for years.
Founder and executive director Sheryl Kluge moved the organization into the Spring Street location in early September, according to The Cabarrus Compass. The nonprofit distributes more than 6,000 pounds of food each month through its network of Blessing Boxes, freestanding stations stocked with nonperishable food and personal items that anyone can access without paperwork or income verification.
The upgrade is stark.
For years, Kluge ran the operation out of two single-car garages at her Kannapolis apartment complex. Neither had a bathroom, heating or air conditioning, the Compass reported.
Kluge founded the program in January 2019 as Cabarrus Blessing Boxes after getting approval from Concord Fire Chief Ray Allen to install the first box at Fire Station 5, according to a Cabarrus County CVB press release and 1Can's website. By the end of that year, four boxes were up across Cabarrus County. The pandemic drove demand higher in 2020, and Kluge added more boxes and incorporated 1Can as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in August of that year.
The motto she gave the program, as described in the March 2021 CVB press release, still holds: "Take what you need, leave what you can."
The organization describes itself as 100% volunteer-run. Its Blessing Makers Circle page lists 11 Blessing Boxes across the county, each stocked around the clock with food and hygiene items. Details on donating or volunteering are at your1can.org.
The new headquarters gives Kluge room to grow that network from a permanent home for the first time since 1Can began.
