The Pantry for Adair County officially began serving people at their new building July 18, and hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house July 25.
Lisa Ahrens, PAC Board of Directors president, said the mission of the new Pantry for Adair County is to help curb the high rates of food insecurity found in the area. The building is located at 2012 South Halliburton Street on land owned by Central Church of Christ in Kirksville and will be open three days a week: Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1-3 p.m.
The PAC Board of Directors, which coordinated the move to the new building, began in 2014 with six churches: First Presbyterian Church, First Christian Church, Mary Immaculate Parish, Trinity Episcopal Church, Faith United Methodist Church and Kirksville First United Methodist Church.
One of the goals of the pantry, Ahrens said, is to bridge the gap in people’s monthly expenses. She said the pantry will be set up so people can choose which items they would prefer, whereas in some pantries people would simply get a grocery package without the option to choose what is inside.
Ahrens said she has learned that food insecurity can stem from a variety of situations, affecting different people for different reasons.
“It’s not just because you lost your job,” Ahrens said. “It could be because you had a medical issue come up, and all of a sudden you have all this medicine and the dollars you have in a month just don’t stretch.”
For more, pick up a copy of The Index on Thursday, Aug. 23.