The Community Food & Clothing Pantry at Bethlehem Baptist Church provides hundreds of northern Palm Beach County families with weekly food supplements.
LAKE PARK — When a fire gutted the Community Food & Clothing pantry at Bethlehem Baptist Church just over a year ago, hundreds of northern Palm Beach County families were left without their weekly food supplements.
The August 2018 blaze, which was sparked by an electrical short, decimated the interior of the pantry operated by Palm Beach Gardens-based service organization Club 100 Charities.
More than $75,000 worth of refrigeration equipment, food, clothing and other items saved for distribution were wiped out in the fire, forcing the charity to move its operations to a temporary location on the other side of the Bethlehem Baptist Church campus in Lake Park.
Now, following a nearly yearlong renovation, volunteers are set to move back in.
The rebuilt pantry will open Tuesday for its weekly food and clothing distributions, Club 100 Charities board member Harry Drier said Sunday during a grand opening celebration.
The pantry, which opened four years ago, provides weekly supplemental donations of fresh vegetables, meats, fruits, canned goods, breads and other food items, as well as clothing and personal items to those in need.
It serves over 400 families in Lake Park and surrounding areas.
"It’s such a vital part of the community," said Lake Park commissioner John Linden, who took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday at the new facility. "People look forward to it."
The pantry distributes about 1,500 food items and 900 clothing items each week to families in northern Palm Beach County, Drier said, and also donates more than 1,000 food and clothing items to St. George’s Episcopal Church in Riviera Beach and St. Ann Catholic Church in West Palm Beach.
Club 100 Charities continued those efforts in the aftermath of last year’s fire, though initially it relied on a donation of Publix gift cards to help provide for families, President Paul Cherry said.
The organization relies entirely on donations of food and clothing items to support families in need, with most of those donations coming from the Palm Beach County Food Bank, Publix and local churches, Drier said.
Club 100 Charities also relied on monetary donations to rebuild its pantry after last year’s fire.
The renovation has cost about $140,000 so far, Club 100 Charities Treasurer Doug Elder said, and that figure is expected to climb.
Elder and other Club 100 Charities volunteers were among those at Sunday’s celebration.
The facility is almost fully stocked with food and clothing, and is ready to begin serving families at its rebuilt location.
"There is such a need in our community, and people rely on it," Lake Park Vice Mayor Kimberly Glas-Castro said. "It’s so great that they were able to get it back together and reopen it."
A GoFundMe account set up last September continues to raise money for renovation costs. To donate, visit https://ift.tt/30NV30Q. For information on Club 100 Charities, visit www.club100usa.org.
jwagner@pbpost.com
@JRWagner5
