NEENAH (WLUK) — A Fox Valley food pantry is expanding its space to keep up with increased demand.
St. Vincent de Paul of Neenah/Menasha has plans to increase their pantry size from 1,500 square feet to over 20,000 square feet.
Vinnie’s Pantry first opened up its pantry doors on Commercial St. in 2021.
Since then, the non-profit went from serving 50 families to serving over 1,900.
“It’s been a lot of work,” said Jeremy Pingel, Director at SVDP Neenah/Menasha. “We have really worked hard to get this ready to go and open. The need was really for storage and space.”
Pingel believes the increase in families needing help is due to certain benefits ending, and because of inflation.
“COVID ended, some of that funding that was happening during that time has ended,” said Pingel. “SNAP benefits, other benefits have really kind of dried up and gone away.”
To keep up with the growing needs, St. Vincent De Paul needed to expand its pantry and hygiene space. With an empty area next door, Pingel said now was the perfect time to do so.
“The families didn’t get turned away, but they didn’t always walk out with things that they wanted before, by the time some of those pantry sessions would end, there would be very little left,” he said.
The current food pantry can handle five to seven families at a time. The new space will be able to handle around 15.
“One of the things that really bothered us was the lack of dignity our pantry offered,” said Pingel. “We had people waiting in the store, in the furniture area. Just not a good place for everyone to be.”
Now, the new pantry will have an independent waiting area.
“It’s a much more dignified situation we have here,” said Pingel.
Vinnie’s Pantry was turning food away at times because lack of space. With the amount of space the pantry has now, Pingel says that won’t be a worry anymore.
“We went from a small little upright freezer and chest cooler to a 40-feet long cooler and freezer,” he said.
For volunteer Christy Dins, she says she gets chills every time she sees the new area.
“I actually started as a patron of the pantry,” she said. “I get a huge smile on my face because I know that we are going to be able to serve so many more people here.”
The pantry is in final stages of remodel, and has a projected grand opening date of Nov. 16.
St. Vincent De Paul is looking for support from the community to raise $500,000 to renovate and grow the food and hygiene pantry. For information on how to donate or volunteer, click here.