HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) – It’s been exactly six months since the Hilliard Food Pantry was lost to a fire… the building, the food, all gone, resulting in a chaotic time for a pantry serving thousands of families.

In the weeks and months since then, the pantry has rallied with the support of the entire community, and now, the pantry is making plans for a far more stable future.

“We’ve essentially been like a moving grocery store for the last, you know, since July,” said Hilliard Food Pantry Executive Director Erin West. “It has been very intensive these past six months.”

Off the back of Hilliard United Methodist Church, in a small space shared with batting cages, you’ll find a devoted group of volunteers fighting hunger in Hilliard.

“It just is a testimony to the fact that they believe in what we’re trying to accomplish here,” West said.

“How do I get food to the people who depend on us weekly, daily for survival,” Hilliard Food Pantry manager Jennifer Wagner said.

In July, the pantry lost all of its food and the pantry structure off of Cemetery Road. Two days later, it was back serving clients.

“We don’t have a place, we don’t have a spot, and we may not even have food,” West said. “All right, let’s get food. Let’s get a tent. Let’s make this happen. Because we just wanted to make sure that people knew that we were there for them.”

That motivation comes from the numbers. Pantry directors said the pantry served nearly 4,000 families in 2023, a 37 percent increase over the year before, and more than 200 families served here each month are new clients.

The pantry plans to build a new facility at the previous site, with construction starting next month. For now, the pantry is shuttling food to a storage location and is eager for the day when the hunger operation truly heals.

For information on the food pantry, click here.