Valley Community Pantry is moving to a larger facility - Press-Enterprise

Valley Community Pantry is moving to a larger facility - Press-Enterprise

The Valley Community Pantry, a food bank that has served the San Jacinto Valley for more than 50 years, will be getting a new home in the new year.

The charity, which also offers bill paying and other assistance, will be moving to Trinity Lutheran Church in Hemet from a storefront location a few miles away on San Jacinto Street and Oakland Avenue.

The Pantry plans to be in its new home Jan. 2.

Executive Director Jim Lineberger said the move will provide many benefits for the organization, mostly much more space.

“We did the best we could with the building we had,” Lineberger said. “It’s going to be like moving into a new house. It’s going to change the attitude.”

The new facility, in a vacated preschool building behind the church, has 5,550 square feet, compared to the current home, which has 2,000 square feet.

Having more space will allow the Pantry to do away with two storage units it had to rent to house large freezers.

There will be more space for clients and a larger office for workers and volunteers and even an outdoor area where they can relax.

“I want them to take pride. I want them to know they are appreciated,” Lineberger said of the two employees and the numerous volunteers. “Volunteers are what makes this organization.”

While rent was $1 per year for the previous building, which the Pantry was asked to vacate while the landlord ponders its future, there will be a $600 monthly charge for the new facility. Utilities also will cost more in the larger building.

Lineberger said he expects to need an additional $3,000 to $5,000 per month for operations.

He is seeking donations to cover costs for moving and refurbishing the building and looking for laborers who can give their time.

He also will seek a grant to paint the facility, which he said has been empty for a couple of years.

“It needs a lot of work to clean up,” Lineberger said.

Most of the food the pantry gives out is donated by area markets.

Trinity Lutheran pastor Erin Armstrong said having the Pantry on site will be beneficial for the congregation.

“This move helps Trinity with populating a currently vacant piece of property, generating a nominal rental income, and helping us be better partners with our larger community,” she said.

Armstrong said she is excited about welcoming the Community Pantry, and she believes the congregation feels the same way.

“We’ve supported the Pantry for years with food and monetary donations,” she said. “We’re proud that we get to use the biggest resource we currently have — our property — to support such a great organization.”

Valley Community Pantry Executive Director Jim Lineberger stands in what will be the welcome room in the charity’s soon-to-be new home at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hemet. CRAIG SHULTZ / STAFF

The new home is on Columbia Street, just south of Florida Avenue. While the current home is in a commercial center, primarily populated with Riverside County-operated social service offices, the new one is in a residential area.

“We’ll probably lose some clients who would walk to us,” Lineberger said. “But I want to be away from businesses. I’m grateful to be here out of the way.”

The Pantry’s primary mission is to provide emergency food and shelter to needy residents from Hemet, San Jacinto, Lakeview, Nuevo, Homeland, Idyllwild, Anza, Aguanga and Sage.

“We’re serving the working poor, we’re serving seniors, we’re serving single mothers,” Lindberger said. “We’re making a difference”

There are 10,000 families registered with the Pantry, Lineberger said. Clients can access six services per year.

“One of Christ’s clearest calls is to care for those in need,” Armstrong said. “This new arrangement is just one small way that we as a congregation are trying to live into that call and be a voice of compassion and service. We hope this is just another step forward for us and for the whole community.”

The Community Pantry was founded in 1965 by the Rev. Roy Schippling of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Hemet. In 1992, it became an official nonprofit charitable organization.

Lineberger, 57, has been the executive director for 6 1/2 years and this is the third home for the Pantry since he started.

A man of faith, he said he’s not intimidated by moving into a much larger home.

“Every time we’ve done something like this, the food comes,” he said. “We’ve grown and everything has grown with us.”

Valley Community Pantry

Where: 191 S. Columbia St., Hemet (as of Jan. 2)

Client hours: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m, Monday-Thursday

Services include: Food distribution; emergency shelter, rent and utility assistance; disaster relief services; senior homebound delivery; Project “Waclothingothimng to homeless); holiday baskets; Christmas toys

Statistics (over the past six years):

Food Assistance: More than 185,200 people with three  meals per day for 2-3 days

Rental Assistance: 36

Motel Assistance: 33

Utility Assistance: 1,383

Volunteers Hours: 75 volunteers have put in almost 198,000 hours

Food Donations: Almost 390,000 pounds annually. More than 1,825,000 pounds over the past six years

Client Statistics

10,321 families registered. Total 30,343 individuals

Seniors (55+ years): 13.5 percent

Single Mothers: 28 percent

Working Class (Working and still need asst.): 14 percent

Children (up to 17 years): 41 percent

Homeless (Living on the streets): 1 percent

Homeless (Living with family or friends): 7 percent

Contact: 951-929-1101

Website: hemetcommunitypantry.org