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Collapsed wall to cost Penn Township Food Pantry $10,000

November 09, 2010|By Clifton French (cfrench@wsbt.com)

MISHAWAKA — A portion of wall that collapsed last month at the Penn Township Food Pantry is going to cost the organization thousands of dollars.  Penn Township Food Pantry Executive Director Mike Hayes said the project will cost $10,000.

"I went out and I looked and the bricks on our building had just fallen off," Hayes said.

It has been more than one month since the wall attached to the pantry's warehouse crumbled to the ground, now that the weather is starting to get cold, Hayes ways he's worried animals will start coming into the area where they store most of the food.

Tuesday, reconstruction will begin, and like the bricks stacked outside the building, the bills pile up. 

"It's tough because you know for every penny that you spend on something else other than food that you're going to be that much shorter on food," Hayes said.

The pantry and construction crews are doing what they can to save money.  Bricks that were not damaged in the collapse will be used in the reconstruction.

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Right now, Hayes says the pantry will be paying for the entire project, but with only $20,000 in the bank, it will use up half of the pantry's reserves.

"Now we're going to have to step up our fund-raising efforts so we can help get this paid for as well as continue to put food on the shelves," Hayes said.

Penn Township Trustee Jeff Dean says the township will look at helping the pantry with the bill, if it is needed.

The building is owned by the township and is insured.  Hayes says it is unclear if the insurance will cover any of the costs.

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