Kearney Food Pantry Opens in New Location

The Kearney Food Pantry has finally found a forever home and on Tuesday, September 1, it opened for business.

Space was a big challenge because we started doing more for the schools - Food Pantry Volunteer Lynn Breshears

The previous location at 113 E. Washington was adequate for a while, but as the need for services increased and more people wanted to donate to the Food Pantry, space was at a premium. The pantry had simply outgrown the location, and the need to find a larger space was a priority.

“Space was a big challenge because we started doing more for the schools, with school bags and supplying two pantries at schools, so we had boxes and bins stacked to the ceiling,” said Food Pantry Volunteer Lynn Breshears. “All of that [supply] has to be sorted and divided out. We just didn’t have a good area for storage.”

That was happening in the pre-COVID era. Since the pandemic began, the old pantry location was unable to properly social distance because the space was so small. There was only one door for visitors to come in and go out, as well as drop off donations. On busy days, it was a bottle neck of people going in and out one door with boxes and bags of food as well as supplies.

The new location is just what the pantry needed. Several tables are spaced in the large open lobby space. The lobby space is available for people to complete their list and turn it in. Once they submit their list, they receive a pager to tell them when their order is ready. There is plenty of parking available for people waiting to have their order filled, or they can relax on the front porch.

When the pager rings, people drive their vehicles around to the loading area in the back of the food pantry to pick up their goods. The new location has a large space to store fresh fruit and vegetables, non-perishables, cleaning and personal items, and refrigerated foods. It also has a staging area for volunteers to bring food to so it can be sacked and then carried out to vehicles.

The area to the side and back will also help the pantry when people donate goods. There is plenty of space to unload food without interfering with people entering the building or loading their vehicles. It is a very well thought out and easy to navigate solution.

“It’s going to be easier for people to fill out their orders and easier for the people filling orders in the back,” said Breshears. “And for donations. It would get really crowded sometimes because everything was coming through one door. The flow is going to be better here.”

The Food Pantry has seen an increase of 50% in families since February, 2020. They also feed kids through the pantries at the High School and Jr. High schools. They also distributed 2,207 food bags to Pre-K through 5th grade this past school year.

The Kearney Food Pantry is comprised of volunteers from churches, schools, organizations, and other community members, and provides food assistance to those who need it. The pantry is open on Tuesdays from 2pm – 4pm and Thursdays from 3pm – 6pm at 108 W. Washington Street. For more information about volunteering or the process of receiving help through the pantry call 816-903-4763, or visit the Kearney Food Pantry website.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story