Every day brings challenges to the Storehouse, above and beyond the people that come through our doors looking for food. We have been hit with some unexpected bills this winter including having to replace a heater for around $2,400. It was important to fix it as quickly as possible because it was the unit that heats the entire front of our pantry.
During the winter, hundreds of people line up early in the morning and many times it’s been below 30 degrees. The pantry doesn’t officially open until 9 am, but too often we see people without jackets, flimsy shoes, and sometimes even without socks — people who are truly freezing while they wait outside. On mornings like that, the Storehouse team lets people sit and wait inside while we finish stocking the pantry. Without that heater, inside wouldn’t be much warmer. Knowing our families count on us, the heater was repaired.
The Storehouse brings these issues to your attention, items like the freezer and heater we’ve recently had to fix or replace, to raise awareness of the challenges we face in feeding hungry people and running a food pantry. Though people bring food, funding is also truly important because it makes it possible to pay these kinds of bills, to cover our utilities, and pay our small team of hard-working employees, to make sure we can continue our mission. Food drives are incredible, but donations of funding are really important, too.
We appreciate every dollar given to us and spend it as wisely as we can. Over 95% of our funds directly go to providing food to people in need.
Thank you for your gifts this holiday season and throughout the year.