Central Ohio food pantries quick to help Hilliard after large fire
HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) -- Fire officials in Hilliard are investigating the cause of a massive fire that destroyed a local food pantry on Sunday.
The pantry says that they will have to temporarily pause their services, but other food pantries in the area are already banding together to provide support. On Monday morning, Dan Burmeister -- the lead pastor at Life Community Church -- told NBC4 that they were not ready to speak about the fire on camera.
However, one man who was looking to lend a helping hand said the fire is a major loss for community members, like himself. "It's just too bad. They were trying to help people, and this happens, you know?" says a choked-up Gerald Ewers, standing in front of a pile of charred debris. "It's just hard to believe."
On Monday morning, smoke stains the pantry's exterior, while inside everything is turned to ash. Ewers gets emotional reflecting on the loss because he's one of the 450 families that the Hilliard Food Pantry serves every week. He drove by Monday morning hoping to help those who have helped him so much over the years.
"They've helped me immensely. I'm retired, I'm on social security. Prices of food are so much now, you know they give me a lot of stuff," Ewers describes. In a Facebook post, the pantry says that they'll need to stop providing services while the fire damage is assessed.
Meaning community members like Ewers will need to look elsewhere for services to help fulfill their needs. "I'm sure they'll have a process now to say, 'Here's where you can go,' and be certain we'll take those close clients as well, and we'll also pitch in if we need to," assures Roy Clark.
Clark is the director of the NNEMAP Food Pantry in Linden. After learning about the fire, he says he immediately reached out to Hilliard to offer his support. "It's tough. We're all a community. We all share the same kind of problems, the same kind of situations and we're really kind of all in it together," Clark describes.
But Clark isn't alone. The Mid-Ohio Food Collective says the Hilliard Food Pantry is one of the largest partner pantries in their network. A spokesperson there says they've already begun working with them to assess their needs, and re-direct community members to other resources in the area.
And with many pandemic programs expiring -- both for pantries and the people they serve -- Clark says food pantries are all in the same boat, and they're busier now than they've ever been. "We're trying to get that message out to the donors and to people around that this is a worse situation than it even was two or three years ago," Clark warns.
Asst. Chief Jake Wells with the Norwich Township Fire Department says their station will be taking up donations for the pantry as well. Wells says once they have a better idea of the pantry's needs, and where those donations can go, they will share that information with the community.