A drastic increase in customers at its new location has led to
the fiscal crisis.
HOLLISTER
The Community Pantry has been serving far more individuals since moving to its new location on San Felipe Road – so many, in fact, the organization has entered a fiscal crisis.
“We’ve gotten a lot bigger budget and we’ve grown our income a lot thinking we’d be OK,” said Mary Anne Hughes, Community Pantry’s executive director.
But they aren’t OK. With 60 percent more individuals served since moving into the new location, the pantry is facing a $50,000 deficit by the end of June.
“We need to raise some money fast,” Hughes said.
In 2005 and 2006, the pantry served an average of about 2,300 people per month. In 2007, when the pantry made its move to the San Felipe Road location, that amount increased to 3,726 per month by December.
The pantry served a record 4,054 individuals in January. Meals served increased from 68,000 in December to 91,000 in January, Hughes said.
Although pantry officials were expecting an increase in service with the move to a larger location, no one is quite sure what caused such a drastic increase.
For information on how to donate to Community Pantry, call the organization at 637-0340.
