The pantry is open 4-7:30 p.m. every Wednesday, and organizations or schools volunteer to help distribute food to clients. Some clients have dogs in their car.
Last week, one client had a dog in their SUV, and pantry director Pan Benson said the animal was chained inside a cage in the vehicle’s back. Hamilton High School had some students from its football team volunteering that day, and one was putting food inside the back of the SUV when the dog stuck his muzzle up to the cage and part of its snout protruded and a tooth ripped the student’s sweatshirt.
Paramedics responded and checked the student, she said. The student was deemed to be okay and finished the workday.
“Thank God he had his sweatshirt on,” she said, adding they were replacing the student’s sweatshirt.
Because of this incident, Benson said they have instituted a new policy that no dogs will be allowed to be in the cars during pickup. The policy will be phased in over today and April 2.
If a dog is in a vehicle today, the client must load the pantry items themselves, Benson said. Next week, if a dog is in the vehicle, service to the client will be refused.
“Unfortunately, that’s what we had to do,” she said of the policy.
The Village Food Pantry serves between 350 and 400 people from 4:30 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday at 617-B N. Riverside Drive, where they’ve been located for the past five years.
The new rule change was posted on the Village Food Pantry’s Facebook page, and flyers will be distributed to clients.
As spring is now a week old, they expect more clients to come to the pantry as the weather improves, Benson said. “We could use more donations.”
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