After a half-century of feeding local families from the basement of a downtown church, the FISH Food Pantry is getting a new home.
The pantry will move to St. Bernard Catholic Church from First United Methodist Church this spring, ending a search for a new facility to serve thousands of clients in need of food.
“It’s a done deal,” board president Bud Arnold said after the move was approved. “It’s a matter of timing.”
The pantry will be housed in a building that held meetings for civic groups and a Boy Scout troop. Arnold said the new space would streamline the process for filling orders. Last year, the pantry served an average of 307 families and more than 1,200 individuals every month.
At the Methodist church, volunteers pack staples like cereal, canned vegetables, rice and peanut butter into boxes, which are carried upstairs to clients waiting outside the church’s library.
“With St. Bernard’s, they can actually be right there and help you pick out the food,” Arnold said.
The move likely won’t happen until May, at the earliest, to give St. Bernard time to finish remodeling the building, Arnold said. The board has agreed to help cover the expenses.
FISH began the search for a new building last year after the Methodist church tightened security and re-opened its preschool. The church, which has provided rent-free space to the ministry since it began in 1969, agreed to continue hosting the pantry until a site was found.
A board committee reviewed a list of potential buildings, but struggled to find one that didn’t need expensive renovations.
The ministry’s financial secretary works as the business and office manager at St. Bernard. When Father Chris Shocklee, the pastor, learned about the search, the church offered space to FISH.
“I think the FISH Food Pantry is a very important part of our community because one of the greatest needs is to feed those in need,” Shocklee said.
Pantry manager Carol Spencer said the process of moving food and other supplies would likely begin after the preschools at both churches dismiss for the summer.
“The Catholic church, and Father Shocklee in particular, has made us feel very welcome,” she said.
After the pantry moves, the Methodist church will store extra food.
“I think that’s a very gracious thing to do. I think that’s nice of them to do that,” Arnold said.
The pantry’s relocation comes amid long-running talks to combine all of FISH’s services under one roof. Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church hosts the clothing closet and linens are available at First Baptist Church. Plans to consolidate have been put on hold until after the pantry moves.
“The board feels that we need to get the move completed and get the pantry functioning before we go to the next phase,” Arnold said.
