CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A food bank that supplies food to more than 600 programs across West Virginia has survived financial problems that threatened to shut it down.
Mountaineer Food Bank had laid off 17 workers and let its director go in March. Mountaineer also reduced the miles it drives to deliver and pick up food.
Julie Harris, president of Mountaineer’s board of directors, said the food bank is no longer in crisis mode. She attributed the turnaround to support from various sources.
“I think I can speak for the board and agency as a whole when I say that we are humbled by the support that we have received,” Harris told The Exponent Telegram (https://bit.ly/1GlriTF).
“We know that the service we provide impacts the lives of nearly 270,000 hungry West Virginians. It is gratifying to know that our community supports these efforts and those who are most in need.”
Officials with local food programs were relieved to hear that Mountaineer is no longer in danger of closing.
Yvonne Chelberg, director of Help on the Horizon Inc., said Mountaineer helps her program feed 80 to 100 families a month, along with 400 children a week through a backpack program, in Lewis and Harrison counties.
“It’s a blessing,” Chelberg told the newspaper. “We had talked to somebody beforehand, and we figured out we would probably be able to stay open another six months without their services. It’s a huge impact to lose them.”
Patricia George, director of the North View United Methodist Church Pantry, said pantries can order meats through Mountaineer at prices lower than they would pay at stores.
“It makes a big difference,” George told the newspaper. “It’s a very huge sigh of relief because I didn’t know what we were going to do. The church is good to support the pantry with donations and financial support, but if we didn’t have the Mountaineer Food Pantry, we’d end up going through a lot of money really fast if we had to buy all that on our own from the stores.”
Mountaineer’s next steps are hiring an executive director and starting a strategic planning process, Harris said.
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Information from: The Exponent Telegram, https://www.theet.com
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