Perry Township church's food program imperiled by broken freezer
- The Grace Fellowship food pantry is trying to raise money to replace its broken freezer.
- The church estimates it lost several thousands of dollars worth of meat because of the broken freezer.
- The pantry program is still operating.
PERRY TWP. − Feb. 8 was a bad day for Holly Taylor.
The director of Grace Fellowship Church's food pantry program recalls that was the day when the hydraulic truck lift they use to unload hundreds of pounds of food blew out.
The church at 6282 Nave St. SW distributes free groceries to 300 families from 5 to 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month. It has partnerships with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and the Stark County Hunger Task Force.
More:National Guard shows up to help Stark County food pantry
Heart of Stark:Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank provided 23 million meals last year
On the same day the truck broke, the church's walk-in freezer went on the fritz. Its fan control went out, which caused the compressor to seize up, which in turn caused the evaporator to rupture.
"It was 64 degrees in the freezer," Taylor said. "Everything was rotten. We probably lost a couple thousand dollars worth of meat. We just ended up with a whole lot of very unexpected bills."
The church will host a Swiss steak dinner fundraiser and dessert auction from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $13.
The proceeds will be used to purchase a new freezer, at an estimated cost of $28,000.
"It's just very inconvenient," said the Rev. E. Keith Stephens, senior pastor. "We started it (pantry) 15 years ago, the first year of our ministry."
Taylor said they were informed that the original installation was incorrectly done.
"When they came out to do the repair, they were looking at it and he (repairman) said, 'I'm not really comfortable doing a repair on this' because when it was put in, it didn't have the appropriate vapor barrier," she said. "So, we think the wall behind it is moldy, and possibly the floor underneath."
In addition to needing a new wall and flooring, Taylor said, they also were told that the freezer was installed too close to an electrical panel, which will have to be moved.
They calculated that the cost of a new freezer was comparable to repairing the old one. Ideally, a new freezer will be installed by May, Taylor said.
Though the church is just stone's throw away from a sparkling new housing development, Stephens and Taylor said the need for food is steady, particularly among senior citizens, followed by families with young children.
According the latest census, Stark County's poverty rate stands at 13.2% which is above the state and national averages of 12.7% and 11.9%, respectively.
"We serve all of Stark County," Taylor said.
She noted that during the height of the pandemic, they conducted a drive-thru grocery giveaway but too many volunteers got sick. They moved it back indoors, and recipient families dwindled to about 100, but only temporarily before the numbers started climbing again.
Stark poorer than its neighborsStark County's poverty rate higher than Ohio, U.S. rates, report says
Food distribution continues because Taylor was able to cobble together a network of volunteers who are storing the meat in their freezers.
"We don't have as much frozen meat, but we try to give one meat item, plus fresh produce," she said. "We also have emergency services."
For more information, contact Stephens at the church at 330-833-5500 or 330-209-9448, or e-mail kstephens14@yahoo.com
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
Editor's note: Information has been added to correct an error in the original story. The church's pantry is open from from 5 to 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month.