BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Heart, Love, and Soul Food Pantry is back open and welcoming the community after it had to temporarily close due to violent incidents in the area.
One person who was waiting in line to grab fresh food and veggies Wednesday say the crime in Niagara Falls is getting worse.
“It’s terrible. How are you going to threaten a place that’s trying to provide for the community?,” says Tanya Adamson, a resident in Niagara Falls. “We need this place. There’s a lot of people hungry in this city and can’t make ends meet.”
7 News reporter Yoselin Person saw the need of many people like Adamson just waiting to grab fresh food to take home.
The Executive Director of Heart, Love, and Soul food pantry, Mark Baetzhold, says this year they have served more than 200 people for breakfast and lunch every day.
Baetzhold says this year they also served more than 5,000 food pantry meals.
“We’re currently over $50,000 over our budget for food at this point of the year,” he says. “So the resources that the state and federal government can provide those resources are needed to help stem the problems that we’re seeing here.”
So how is Mayor Robert Restaino of Niagara Falls planning to confront these issues?
“We have a meeting scheduled this week to talk about how we’re able to help that agency in some way, it performs an important service to the community,” Mayor Restaino says.
Others hope action will take place to combat what they call a lack of resources impacting this community from all angles.
“The resources that could be available need to come to here to communities like this where disadvantages exist, and people need more resources and opportunities,” says Baetzhold.
Click here if you’d like to donate or volunteer at the Heart, Love, Soul Food Pantry.
