After 25 years of serving New River Valley community members, the Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry is looking forward to the future in its new building.
Director Fredda Cromer said the food pantry relocated in December from its former location at 550 N. Main St. behind the Blacksburg Baptist Church to the new 3,480-square-foot location at 706 Harding Ave.
The new building is located just behind Blacksburg United Methodist Church’s Christian Life Center and is a much larger space, built for the specific use of the Interfaith Food Pantry.
Cromer, who is entering her 13th year as director, has been dreaming of the new space for many years.
“When I took over, we served about 300 people a month,” Cromer said. “Now we serve 900 people a month and have totally outgrown the facility the baptist church had been providing for us.”
In the former location, volunteers had to go up and down stairs to bring food boxes and bags from its storage location to the patrons on the main floor, said pantry volunteer Vern Simpson.
Simpson said the single-level location eliminates the hassle and allows more time for volunteers and patrons to interact, which he believes is one of the many benefits of the new pantry.
The larger location includes shelves similar to those in a local grocery store, as well as glass-door refrigerators and freezers that hold dairy products and meats.
Read More of Mike Shaw’s article @ The Burgs January 5th, 2013
Photo credit above Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times