OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Tri-City Food Pantry has been growing over the past 15 years and now they’re ready for a new home.
Each year they serve around 5,000 people in Sarpy County and Ralston; this year they expect that number to be closer to 6,000.
“As our facilities grow and our families, and we can handle more families, and families are able to choose the foods they want because of dietary restrictions or cultural preferences, then we think that the need will continue to grow and we’ll get more clients in," said Melissa Nelson, executive director for the pantry.
They want to start doing things at the pantry in a new way that will give families more choices to meet their needs with dignity.
“It’s a client-focused facility, meaning clients are going to come in and choose the groceries they want, choose the hygiene items that they would like, pick up their dog and cat food to take home versus the pre-bagged sets to hand out," Nelson said.
They also want a space that can adapt to serve more people in emergency situations.
“If there is a crisis like tornadoes or storms that we can easily change the flow of traffic and we can hand out water, we can be a charging station in a state of an emergency.”
To make this work, the Tri-City Food Pantry needs a 6,000 square foot space.
They’ve launched their Growing to Give campaign and have a goal of $1.5 million to make this vision a reality.
You can find ways to support the pantry at tricitypantry.org
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