BLACKFOOT — Casey Curlee knows people are struggling to make ends meet these days, and the proof is in her own front yard.

“I probably have 10 people stop by every day,” Curlee said. “I am just past Ridge Crest Elementary, and I have kids who stop and get snacks because they don’t have food at home.”

What they are stopping for is the Locker of Love, a large locker that Curlee has in front of her home that contains several items people seem to need help with these days. Inside the locker are non-perishable food items, baby supplies, feminine products, hygiene products, books and cleaning supplies. Next to it is a box of seasonal items.

“It had winter stuff in it — coats, gloves, hand warmers, anything to help people stay warm,” she said. “This summer I will put in hydration products, water, Gatorade — anything that will help.”

Curlee got the idea last fall when she saw people were putting items out on tables in front of their homes to help those affected by the government shutdown. She noticed that when the shutdown ended, those tables with helpful items also stopped.

“I know there are still people in our community that need help,” Curlee said. “I started collecting items in November. It took me a few weeks to get enough to put out.”

She put the locker out in January, and there has been a steady flow of people taking the help. It took her a few weeks to get enough items because Curlee, a single mother and disabled veteran, was supplying most of the contents out of her own pocket.

“I have gotten some community donations,” she said. “I am hoping it will become a community project soon, but I donate a lot to it.”

Being on a fixed income, Curlee said she has long made it a habit to use coupons and pay attention to sales. She figured she would just buy a little more so she could put some in the locker.

“People ask me how I’m doing this, and I say with lots of coupons,” she said. “I sale shop and coupon shop.”

Some of the products that move the quickest, she said, are food items, shampoo, soap, deodorant and baby formula.

“A lot of local programs will only give you one or two hygiene products,” Curlee said. “So they come to the locker to fill that gap.”

She even bought a bulk package of brushes and combs once and put them in the locker. They were all gone within two days.

The Locker of Love is located at 731 Wootton Way in Blackfoot. Anyone looking to help Curlee with the locker can leave donations on her front porch or put them in the locker directly.

She started a Facebook page for the project called Locker of Love Blackfoot.

“If anyone wants to reach me about donations, they can message me through the Facebook page,” Curlee said. “If they want to start their own Locker of Love, they can message me and I will tell them how.”

As for the locker itself, she said it is no questions asked, and you do not have to donate to take items from it.

“Anyone can use it for help — it’s take what you need and leave what you can,” Curlee said.