Cordova’s Salvation Army food pantry has reopened after a seven-month closure. The food pantry dispensed goods to 38 families during a Saturday, Nov. 23 event, its first since April.
The Salvation Army plans to hold a Christmas food distribution event in December and to resume twice-monthly distributions in January 2020. The Salvation Army has been aided by partnerships with local organizations like the Cordova Church of the Nazarene and by AC Value Center, which offers the Salvation Army a discount on food items.
“I love to come visit,” said Jenni Ragland, service extension director for the Alaska Division of the Salvation Army. “In Cordova, everyone is eager to pitch in and help. It’s very neighborly.”
Stocking its food pantry, the Salvation Army preferences staples like cereal, canned fruit, preserves and potatoes, and avoids junk food, Ragland said. Beginning with its Nov. 23 Thanksgiving food distribution event, the food pantry will also carry boxed milk. As well as food items, the pantry distributes toilet paper and $25 AC Value Center gift cards.
The Salvation Army’s First Street thrift store closed in 2017, leaving some residents with the impression that the organization had vacated Cordova. The reopened food pantry is located directly behind the former thrift store, which has also been used by the Cordova Church of the Nazarene for fundraising events.
Food donations can be made inside Wells Fargo or by calling Pastor Steve Leppert at 907-429-6262.
