A seven-year-long search has finally come to an end for the volunteer-run Atascadero Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry.
They’ve secured a new spot, the building where Ted Miles Motors used to be.
Beth Hagenauer, ALF Vice President, says an increase in the number of clients initially prompted the search for a new location.
“In the past five years, our number of visits have increased 100%," Hagenauer said. "So in addition to needing more parking, we need more storage, and we need a bigger distribution area.”
ALF Food Pantry has been serving the community since 1984. They provide Atascadero, Templeton, Santa Margarita, Creston, and California Valley residents in need with nutritious groceries.
Board member Linda Chandor says she started volunteering for ALF Food Pantry a decade ago.
“We have directly seen an increase in demand," Chandor said. "When I started working here in 2018, we had 20 to 25 clients a da;y now we have 45 to 50.”
Board president Tim Eckles said that each client represents a family.
"We consider a single client, a single household," Eckles said. "A family between 1 and 8, generally, that's the case.”
Volunteers says that in their current location, there is not enough parking for clients or their team members. They also do not have enough space to store items, needing multiple refrigerators in the building. They’ve been good at adapting to the growing needs of their community, but feel like they’ve outgrown their current location.
The new location, they say, will help ease these issues, help them keep up with the increase in demand, and better serve their community.
While they wait to open up their new location, they will continue operating in their current spot.
While there is no set opening date, they are hoping to have the new location up and running by early summer.
