The Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, an outreach ministry of the Wallkill Reformed Church located at 45 Bridge Street, suffered major structural damage last Tuesday, July 16 after a large tree branch fell onto the building. While the pantry’s electricity remained intact, the branch broke a freezer full of meat and made the building unsafe to use; the church will close the pantry until the church completes its repairs.

The pantry, established 50 years ago, provides hunger relief to residents through various food items; before the branch incident, the building served 70 families a week on Thursdays and Fridays. The ministry’s volunteers receive commodities from the Hudson Valley Food Bank or buy them from Hannaford in Pine Bush using grants and donations. The pantry is also self-serve and allows residents to choose food items that they need the most.

Lori Hughes, a volunteer at the pantry, stated that a company arrived at the site the next day and removed the branch from the building. The church’s next step is enlisting its insurance and a contractor to estimate costs for the branch removal and repairs. In the meantime, Hughe and other volunteers will find an alternative location to serve food to the community.

“We are having a meeting this morning to determine where to open,” Hughes said on Tuesday, July 23. “We’re probably going to be a bit limited in space.”

Hughes also emphasized that the pantry does not need any more food donations at this time and would appreciate monetary donations to cover the repair costs.

“We need monetary donations far more than food ones. We don’t have anywhere to store the food,” Hughes said. “The community has been very good about it. The Vision of Wallkill recently held a 50/50, and both the winner and Vision donated all the proceeds to the pantry.”

To learn more about donating, call (845) 895-2181 or visit wallkillreformed.org/WRCGive.