Commissioners approve financial aid for Libby Food Pantry

Facing homelessness, the Libby Food Pantry stands to receive about $15,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the county for help arranging a possible new location.

County commissioners unanimously approved the organization’s request at a Jan. 19 meeting. The money funds the development of a preliminary architectural plan of the vacant JC Clubhouse building located in Pioneer Park, according to a letter submitted by the food pantry’s board.

“A move to a renovated JC Clubhouse will enable us to meet the demand of our low-income clientele, not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in years to come,” the missive reads.

County Commissioner Brent Teske (D-1) said officials have assisted organization volunteers with finding a new spot in recent months, but without success. The pantry has called the defunct Asa Wood Elementary School its home for years. With the sale of the property —it is slated to become an assisted living complex — by the school district, the pantry was one of several community organizations left to find new digs.

The move is complicated by the pantry’s equipment requirements, most notably room for its freezers, and the need for a supply of electricity. When volunteer Keith Ivers, a member of the organization’s board, first asked commissioners for help in June of last year, he also cited the red-hot real estate market as a challenge.

“All of those buildings that have been sitting empty for 10 to 20 years now have a great deal of value to their owners,” Ivers told county commissioners in 2020. “There are not many facilities out there that we may be able to move into.”

Although no members of the organization were on hand for last week’s discussion, Teske successfully lobbied his colleagues to set aside the money for the architectural review.

“We’ve looked at tons of different places and there is really nothing out there that would facilitate the food pantry,” Teske said.

He noted that the architectural plan would determine whether or not the building will work for the organization.

“If they get this plan, it will lay it out for them,” he said. “This might end up being one of those projects where it can’t be accomplished or it might not be as expensive as we think. I would be — for sure — willing to move forward with this.”

According to the letter submitted to commissioners, the pantry is running out of options even as demand for services spikes. The missive warns that the group’s “ability to serve may be coming to an end, unless we can secure a facility to house our inventory and is easily accessed.”

“As an agency, we are seeing increased reliance on our service,” the letter reads. “With skyrocketing food and gas prices, the high cost of heating and cooling homes, we are seeing increased numbers requesting help.”

In June, Ivers estimated the pantry served 350 individuals or roughly 150 families. In updated numbers presented to commissioner, the organization noted that 188 households visited the pantry in November and December. That figure included 65 children, 25 homeless individuals, 32 veterans, 92 individuals with disabilities and 26 employed head of households.

The mean annual income for a recipient of the pantry’s supplies amounted to $12,791. That rose to $13,038 in 2021.

“Low income is alive in Libby; it’s definitely not well,” the letter reads.

Commissioners added one caveat to the motion approving the dollars, namely a technicality. Because none of the commissioners had recently looked at the county’s balance of ARPA funds, they added that the money was contingent on it still being available. Teske, though, said he believed that the county had the dollars.

In its funding request, the group expressed confidence that the JC Clubhouse, erected in the 1960s, could be renovated to meet the pantry’s needs. The organization already has arranged for a building inspection, submitted a grant request to cover the cost of locating any onsite contaminants and used another grant for electrical changes.

Volunteers foresee going after a community development block grant — as well as donations — to fund construction work on the site.

County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) pointed out that taxpayers currently are paying for the building to sit vacant at the park. Relocating the food pantry there made good sense, he said.

“It costs the county to heat it and maintain it,” Bennett said. “If it’s viable enough to where it could be used, I think it would be a good home for the food pantry.”