“Your financial support is more critical now more than ever,” Serve City Executive Director Tammi Ector wrote in a letter.
Ector told the Journal-News that “given the current economy and donations being down, we had to make some tough decisions.” Ector said she and others have been reaching out “for quite some time” but the support fell short for the organization, which also operates a shelter for the city’s population experiencing homelessness.
Multiple people who have reached out to the organization since the temporary closure was announced, but Ector said until financial support increases, they cannot reopen the pantry at 622 East Ave. It takes a paid staff to operate the pantry, which also includes goods for children under 2 and pet food, she said.
“We need the people who have the means and the resources to give financially,” she said, adding that those who are experiencing hunger and food insecurity “must rely on other community resources and pantries to meet their needs while we focus our resources on the shelter and housing program.”
Serve City is partnering with Shared Harvest and other pantries, such as New Life Mission. New Life will pick up food distribution over the next few weeks but has limited space. Serve City distributed as many of the perishable items as it could prior to closing for the holidays.
Serve City operates the sixth-largest pantry in Butler County, distributing more than 209,000 pounds of food annually, on average. Terry Perdue, executive director of Shared Harvest Foodbank and a Serve City board member, said Shared Harvest Foodbank is working closely with neighboring agencies, including New Life Baptist Mission and Open Door Pantry, to ensure adequate supplies of food are available to meet their increased demand.
“We too are hoping this closure is temporary which will be determined by the support that Serve City receives,” he said. “We are grieved that Serve City has had to make this impossible decision and respect their need to prioritize their shelter and housing programs based on limited resources.”
Those seeking help with food are encouraged to call the Shared Harvest Foodbank Help Center at 513-881-9024 or visit www.sharedharvest.org and click on Get Help to locate the nearest pantry.
For now, Ector said Serve City’s board and leadership are exploring how they can reinvent the pantry “in a manner that generates the revenue needed to operate it.”
“In recent years, it has provided for the needs of those in the community without the funding necessary to do so,” she said. “With the current economy and decreased donations, we cannot continue that practice.
“We look forward to the future with faith and the belief that those who have the means and resources to step into the gaps with Serve City to resume meeting the great need will do so.”
HOW TO HELP
To help the Serve City Food Pantry, you can donate at www.serve-city.org under the donate tab.
About the Author
