A community pantry shop in Derbyshire has temporarily closed due to needing to find a new venue.
The announcement was recently made by the volunteer team at the Loaves and Fishes Pantry Shop in Alfreton.
The initiative, which was set up in December 2022, provides discounted food for those struggling during the current cost of living crisis.
The pantry, which has been based at Alfreton Christian Centre in Hall Street, was open weekly on Thursday mornings.
However, now after 15 months of helping the community The Loaves and Fishes Pantry Shop has temporarily closed its doors.
A spokesman for the pantry shop said: “We thank everyone for their support so far, it has meant so much to us.
“We are currently looking for a new venue. This has meant we are temporarily having to close.”
They continued with words to their customers: “We apologise that for reasons outside of our control, we might have to temporarily (might be permanently, but we really hope not) close the Pantry Shop.
“We are currently looking for a new venue, but this will depend on cost, for as many of you know, we are highly dependent on donations, which is why we charge you a minimum fee for the goods we offer.
“We seriously don’t want to close at all, but this still might be the case if we can’t find a suitable alternative venue.”
The pantry spokesman added: “Since we started running the pantry in December 2022, every person who has walked through the doors has meant a lot to us, some of you even becoming our friends.
“We will do everything in our power to continue serving you if it is possible, for we would worry about you all if anything were to happen to close us.
“Lots of love from the pantry volunteers Danielle, Jackie, Tony, Neil, and Marlene.”
The spokesman also stated that they have had to stop using the church venue due to a “lack of storage space.”

To keep up to date with the pantry go to here

To read more Spirit of Alfreton articles about Loaves & Fishes Pantry go to here

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