FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- The Antioch For Youth and Family food pantry has been in downtown Fort Smith for the past 15 years. Organizers said it's cramped and they're simply out of room. However, thanks to an anonymous donation the food pantry will soon be moving to a new location.
The food pantry will be moving inside the old River Valley Regional Food Bank building located on North 32nd Street. The River Valley Food Bank moved to a new location back in April of 2015 and the building has been empty ever since. The building was purchased by the anonymous donor and will triple the space the Antioch food pantry has now.
At the already existing Antioch food pantry on North 11th Street, they serve around 7,000 people in need around the community.
With the recent growth, organizers are looking forward to a larger space where they can store more food in their pantry and have more space for their mobile food pantries. "We want to improve our service and have a shorter wait time for our clients that come into the facility," said Charlotte Tidwell, Director of Antioch For Youth and Family.
According to Tidwell, "We are excited that we're able to working on building capacity which is a need." She adds, "This is because we're already doing 40 percent and there's a lot more out there in need."
The opening date is still not determined. Right now, they're waiting for more funding so they can renovate and update the inside of the building.
Organizers will continue operations out of the existing food pantry located on North 11th Street for the time being until renovations are complete at the new building on North 32nd.