Peace Portal Drive food pantry rebuilt after being vandalized

Community members quickly replaced a community food pantry that was vandalized on Peace Portal Drive.

Neighbors passing by the food pantry at 1046 Peace Portal Drive alerted Kathleen Morgan, who oversees the pantry, that food products were strewn across the lawn and the pantry had been uprooted February 18. She filed a police report that morning.

Morgan’s community pantry is one of four pantries that United Church of Christ and other community partners installed around town during spring 2020 to help people experiencing food insecurity. The other pantries are in the United Church of Christ parking lot at 885 4th Street, the community garden behind the Blaine senior center on G Street, and near Pacific Building Center at 2677 Bell Road. No other food pantries were vandalized.

“This was a free service for folks who needed it and someone really destroyed that,” Morgan said. “People get used to where they are and what’s in them. There are a lot of hungry people out there.”

Morgan said the food pantries can be emptied every couple of days, but community members always replenish the stock with water, canned soups, beans, oatmeal, peanut butter, granola bars and occasionally personal care items. “It’s pretty crucial to some people’s survival,” she said. 

The Peace Portal Drive food pantry was up and running within a week. Morgan said they don’t want monetary donations, but people are welcome to donate nonperishable, easily accessible food items in the pantries across town.

“People really use them,” she said.