People’s Pantry gets extension but demolition remains imminent

The hampers will get handed out for at least two more weeks.

The People’s Pantry – a food recovery organization that provides free groceries for people in need – now has until Feb. 13 to find a new home. The group was previously informed they needed to vacate by the end of January.

“My immediate concern is to make sure our hamper families continue to receive food,” wrote acting executive director Alice Hale in an email to the Dispatch.

Members of Tri Cities Food Hub have offered support, “should it come to that,” Hale added.

Since 2020, the People’s Pantry has utilized rent-free space at Elks Hall in Leigh Square to store and distribute food that would otherwise be tossed into the landfill. With the aid of two part-time employees and about 50 volunteers, the People’s Pantry offers hampers for about 300 hungry people each week, approximately half of whom are children.

However, the property was sold in 2022, leaving the organization scrambling to find something within the Tri-Cities and within their budget.

Commercial market rents in some locations ranges from $5,000 to $10,000, far beyond what they can afford, Hale noted.

The ideal location would be about 1,500 square feet with room for freezers, coolers and five or six folding tables, Hale explained, noting that a shared space in an empty store front or the corner of a larger warehouse might allow them to keep handing out hampers.

Access Youth started has also operated a meal kit program out of Elks Hall since January 2022.

Currently delivering about 49 meals a week, Access Youth’s gour-made team works like a mix between Hello Fresh and a crash course in culinary school. Volunteers deliver meals kits as well as recipes to young people who learn to chop, measure, and cook for their whole family.

Speaking to the Tri-Cities Dispatch earlier this year, Access Youth executive director Jennifer Blatherwick discussed the challenges of finding affordable space in the Tri-Cities.

“Us having to separate is an unfortunate downgrade in our ability to best serve those kids,” she said. “Non-profits like us and People’s Pantry . . . cannot survive anywhere in the Lower Mainland, paying commercial-level rent, especially alone.”