Letter: Let council hear facts on food pantry situation

Dear Editor:

On Jan. 28, Mayor Don Banning asked the Troy Food Pantry to find a new location. His decision came as a shock to not only us, the Troy Food Pantry volunteers, but also to the families we serve.

The mayor’s reason for asking the pantry to move is that the city is expanding and they need more conference room space.  The question surfaces as to why they need this additional room?

The courtroom isn’t used two days out of the week and four evenings each week. The city also has a formal agreement with the City/Rural Fire Department to use their meeting room, right next door to the city offices. There is also a conference room at the city shop.

Mr. Banning gave no exact deadline to be moved but indicated that it should be within the next few months. He also feels that the city should not be funding this type of work, that it should be churches providing food to families in need. In addition, the cost of electricity for the pantry’s freezers should not be paid by the City of Troy.

According to the manuals that came with our freezers, the cost to run all six of them is approximately $248 per year. The pantry could pay for the cost of this electricity, if requested, although that would take food off the shelves to do so.

We feel that this decision by Mr. Banning might be premature. We feel the issue of relocating the food pantry should be heard by the City Council, to gather all the facts and hear how the people of Troy feel about it before having the council vote to make this a legitimate decision.

Sue Grabinski

Troy Food Pantry director and volunteer