About 30 minutes into opening day of World Relief Moline's international food pantry, the shelves were already empty.
The food pantry opened at 9 a.m. Monday at the not-for-profit's office at 1852 16th St., Moline, and director Amy Rowell said eight Burmese women were waiting outside the office at 8:45 a.m. In total, more than 100 people were served on Monday.
"It was our first time doing it and we literally ran out of food," Rowell said. "We had a great turnout."
The turnout tells Rowell this: "There's a need for this."
World Relief Moline supports refugees and immigrants in the Quad-City area, who are primarily from Burma and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rowell said. She said many of the families they serve have previously had trouble finding food items at other food pantries.
"There's a lot of great food pantries around the Quad-Cities for people to get access to food," she said. "We've always known with refugees that that kind of food isn't what they're used to eating or they don't know how to prepare it."
World Relief launched the food pantry, which will be open twice per month, thanks to funds from the Project of the Quad-Cities and partnerships with area Asian and African grocery stores.
Rowell said World Relief staff will stock the food pantry with more items when it opens next at 9 a.m. Monday, March 12 and 26.
"We really want families who just need a little extra help to come in," Rowell said. "Maybe they're employed, but they're just barely making it. We want to help them find food that is familiar to them and healthy."
World Relief is looking for volunteers and donations for the food pantry. To contact World Relief Moline, call 309-764-2279 or visit worldreliefmoline.org.
