‘A blow to the soul.’ Inflation forces Mid-Cities food pantry to close after 25 years
Mission Central, a nonprofit that opened over 25 years ago, announced Tuesday that it is closing due to inflation and the challenges of providing services during the pandemic.
Board president Stephen Tally called the decision “heartbreaking and a grim disappointment.”
During the pandemic, Mission Central, at 740 E. Pipeline Road in Hurst, insisted on keeping its doors open to provide food, tutoring and other services to the families who needed help.
Tally said the challenges of staying afloat persisted with inflation and less funding from grants.
“All costs have increased because of inflation,” Tally said. “The need for food and other services isn’t letting up.”
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Mission Central had to rely on its reserves when the organization couldn’t meet its budget, Tally wrote in an email.
By the end of 2023, Mission Central depleted its reserves and was operating paycheck to paycheck, Tally said.
“Our goal is to find a home for the services we initiated. It’s not about Mission Central but the people we served,” he said.
Executive director Catherine Hollis, who came to Mission Central as a part-time employee in 2012, said she wants to highlight the accomplishments, such as helping 50,000 families.
Now, the focus is on finding homes for the food pantry and tutoring programs, she said.
The Village Pantry and mobile food pantry will stop operating Friday; the Village Library will cease operations on April 25; the shop, Coat of Many Colors, will stay open until at least April 27.
“A lot of people talk about organizations failing. I don’t want to do that,” Hollis said.
The pandemic and inflation depleted the reserves, she said.
Hollis said around 30% of giving to nonprofits happens in December, and nonprofits depend on that seasonal giving.
People haven’t seen their wages keep pace with inflation, and Mission Central faced higher rent and insurance costs, she said.
Many of the people Mission Central serves are working families having trouble making ends meet.
Hollis said her heart is going out to the volunteers who spent countless hours helping the guests who came to Mission Central.
Phil Dorcas and his wife Beth have volunteered for many years.
“It’s a blow to the soul. I’ve been coming since it’s inception in 1998,” Phil Dorcas said.
Dorcas described how he helped stock the food pantry and helped guests take groceries to their cars.
‘I hear a lot of stories. I hear them talk about the cost of groceries and how hard it is to keep everybody fed,” he said. “When they see food loaded in to the trunk or backseat, some are crying. Some are so happy.”
Beth Dorcas said she knows the guests by name and her heart goes out to them.
“We are going to find a way. We are going to plug in somewhere. We’re not going to stop loving our neighbors,” she said.
