A small, compact and lightweight wheeled material spreader unit used in combination with a selectively insertable and removable box of material to be spread. The spreader has structure which receives, opens, and holds a box of material, which is to be applied, e.g., to a lawn. It includes a small chamber, or subsidiary surge or buffer hopper and material directing passage with on-off and discharge rate controls enabling a smooth flow of material to a rotary type distributing mechanism, belt driven by the wheels of the device as it is pushed over the surface being treated. The box of material can be readily removed for storage of undistributed material.