Red Lion free food pantry helped people during pandemic. It's being forced to shut down - York Daily Record

cicingwos.blogspot.com

Kevin Moore York Daily Record

Published 5:46 PM EDT Jun 13, 2020

A local food pantry in Red Lion will have to shut down its operation in July. 

Jerry Pilachowski runs the Red Lion Little Free Food Pantry, and on Friday he wrote on his Facebook page that the pantry is being forced to shut down on July 3.

In his post he said "some 'concerned' citizens have complained to the township & to York Area Regional Police. They said we are a public nuisance, we're impeding traffic and creating a traffic safety hazard."

His post received a lot of attention from people on Facebook. Many were thanking him for helping out the community, and others were disappointed and upset that the pantry will have to shut down.

Located at 3265 Cape Horn Road, Pilachowski's roadside pantry started about three months ago.

One day, he decided to buy a tent and bought some food, and once he made a Facebook post about the pantry, that's when people started to show up.

"I checked with Windsor Township before we even started with the pantry and they told me that since this area wasn't my property I didn't need a permit," he said. "The people from Windsor Township were so nice they brought us a whole bunch of orange cones to help with traffic."

Apparently, some people had an issue with the pantry being on the side of the road. 

"The Regional Police contacted the township and let them know that they were going to come out, but the township said they were going to take care of it," Pilachowski said. "So that's when the township told me that we would have to shut down."

Pilachowski said that people park their cars across the highway and walk over to either drop off donations or pick up food.

"Ever since we started we have never had an accident and people have made sure that they are aware of their surroundings," he said. "We didn't get anything official in writing, but the township said we need a date to end this, and we decided on July 3."

The pantry runs Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. When Pilachowski made the post about the pantry being forced to shut down, many people reached out to him to see if he wanted to move the pantry to their location.

"It's amazing to see the feedback that I've been getting in just a short period of time," he said. "But it's difficult to find the right place to set up at and make sure we're following the zoning requirements and other rules."

The food pantry has helped a lot of people for the past three months, Pilachowski said, and he enjoys being there for people in the community.

"It's amazing to see how many people we are helping," he said. "I have heard different stories from many people who are without money and a job and what we're doing is helping them out in so many ways."

Local businesses have noticed what Pilachowski is doing in the community, and they have helped by donating food.

More: COVID-19 Response Fund an opportunity to support our neighbors in need

More: York County nursing home has big COVID-19 outbreak — 48 cases since May 25

Pilachowski said he understands that times are hard for some people right now, and this is something the community needs.

"This pandemic has been tough for many people, and it's important for them to know that there's people in the community who want to help in any way possible," he said.

Pilachowski will continue to have the food pantry running up until July 3.

"Nothing is going to happen until next week as far as finding a new location," he said.

If he's able to find a new location, Pilachowski said that the food pantry will continue to serve the community.

"As long as people keep coming, we're going to continue to help serve them," he said.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"Shut" - Google News
June 14, 2020 at 04:56AM
https://ift.tt/3fyqmVd

Red Lion free food pantry helped people during pandemic. It's being forced to shut down - York Daily Record
"Shut" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d35Me0
https://ift.tt/2WkO13c

Bagikan Berita Ini