By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
After years of dreaming and many months of waiting, a Yukon-based emergency food bank has moved into a new – and much larger – home.
Manna Pantry, which started as a church food closet in 1975, now fills a 2,000 square foot space inside the newly built Together We Center near Cemetery Road and N.W. 10th.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 is the official opening day for the “new” Manna Pantry.
Manna Pantry has finally left an 800-square foot space inside a converted house at 123 S Sixth in downtown Yukon – where it had been since 2004.
“We have a much better floor, much more space and more storage here,” Manna Pantry Director Sherri Rogers said Monday afternoon, on the eve of the opening. “All our clients are excited to see it.
“We’ll become a full ‘client-choice’ pantry, where they can come in, shop and pick what they want.”
Some 1,800 square feet comprises the Manna Pantry “store”; the rest is warehouse space.
The newly designed Manna Pantry has a grocery store model.
Each client comes in to select food with help from a volunteer “shopper” who offers advice on healthy options, recipes and food preparation.
“Our goal is to make this look more like a grocery store than a food pantry,” Rogers explained.
The new Manna Pantry features a 30-foot walk-in cooler, large freezers, refrigerators, and new shelving.
BUILDING NO. 2
Manna Pantry occupies “building 2” in the middle of the Together We Center, 620 N Cemetery Road.
The food cupboard is flanked by a 3,000 square foot “Faith” medical clinic to the north and 1,000 square foot “Woven” clothing boutique to the south.
Although Manna Pantry is part of a new Canadian County ministry, it has retained the familiar name because of its solid reputation across the community.
Previously, the pantry fed hungry clients in Yukon and Piedmont. Now, staff and volunteers can nourish people across Canadian County.
Manna Pantry’s new open hours are 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, 5-8 p.m. Thursday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
For more information, call (405) 265-0193 or email mannapantry@togetherwecenter.com
