On Monday, Sept. 21, the Allegan County Food Pantry announced that it was closing soon, but did not say why.
At around 12:30 pm the following Friday, in the basement of the First Church of God in Allegan, ACFP board secretary Mary Clawson was hard at work getting things ready for incoming patrons.
Fridays are one of only two days of the week the pantry is open, and this particular Friday was the third to last day of operation for the organization.
While the initial announcement by the group did not go into any details, Clawson was very straightforward when asked why the pantry, which has served Allegan County since 1991, was shutting down.
"The reasoning behind it is that our board pretty much left a year and a half ago," she said.
According to Clawson, three people have been running the ACFP for the past year or so: herself, board Treasurer Vicki Brower and Executive Director Alex Wilkening.
"We only have four board members. Two of them very active, two of them not so active. So we are very tight on help. So, three people cannot run a pantry."
But their numbers will dwindle even further on Tuesday, when the ACFP's Executive Director is set to step down.
"He has helped us raise money and has been great. He also started a business. And him and his wife are also going to have a baby," Clawson said.
"So, with the new business and with the baby and everything, he just does not have the time to continue to run the board."
Soon after patrons began to fill the small pantry, secretary Vicki Brower arrived, helping Clawson separate bulk items into smaller bags in the kitchen.
Brower said they've made an effort to inform the community of the issues facing the pantry, but added that the group hasn't received the consistent help it needs to function.
"People offer to help, they don't show up. And I think you need more people on the board than just four. So, that's why we just can't handle it anymore."
While the pantry only takes up about half of the church's basement, it still serves hundreds of people each month, according to Brower.
And she said the ACFP has only seen traffic increase as help has declined.
"A year ago, we had 450 families a month. That was our most. Now, it's like 680 families a month. So, we go through food really fast."
Replenishing their supplies also falls mostly on Clawson and Brower.
"We have to take it off the skids to bring it in here. Because we cannot get the skids inside here. So we got to go out there, unload it, bring it in here, set it aside, then put it all away," Clawson said.
"Lately, there's only been a couple of us doing that. And it hurts, you know. Some people have issues with their back and it physically wears them out for three or four days afterwards."
Brower also said that while the pantry is not in financial trouble, they do rely on grants to stay afloat.
But grant applications were something handled by the now-departing executive director, and Brower said they haven't been able to find anyone to fill his role.
"Who do you get that knows how to apply for grants? I have no clue how to do that. Mary doesn't want to do that either," Brower said.
"Alex was good at that. But we just decided that, you know, we can't get enough people to help, so we just decided to close it down."
Despite all of these factors, for both Brower and Clawson, the decision to close the pantry's doors was not an easy one.
“It breaks my heart. It just breaks my heart that we have to do this, but we just can't continue to do it," Clawson said.
"It's kind of sad, because I know there's so many people that need food now," Brower said.
The pantry will open its doors one last time Friday from 1 to 4pm.
Once they’ve closed, the nonprofit’s remaining food and funds will go to another local non-profit: the Allegan County Community Foundation.
The ACFP says to call 211 for information on other pantries in the area.
