By Russ Tarby

Contributing Writer

For many years, the patrons of the United Church of Christ Food Pantry had to squeeze into a small, 12-by-12-foot basement closet at the church on Blackberry Road. Clients and pantry workers alike have long needed a little elbow room.

“That closet could barely accommodate two or three people,” said food pantry coordinator Bill Mugridge.

This month, pantry volunteers have hauled their inventory into a new, airy and spacious room at the church.

“The new space will allow families to receive their food in a warm and inviting environment,” Mugridge said.

The UCC Food Pantry was founded in the late 1980s by Lee and Bobbi Campion. “It was a small and modest endeavor to help those in need in the greater Liverpool community,” Mugridge said.

In 1994, Judy and Jim Chapin took over the operation and served about 20 families each month.  At that time, the Chapins would fill boxes with a variety of nutritious food that would then be given to families once each month.

Six years ago, the present system of “client choice” began. With donations from UCC parishioners and with the assistance of the Food Bank of CNY, shelves are stocked and families pick their food via a point system determined by family size. The pantry presently serves about 18 local families.

This month, UCC members Anita Harmon, Kathy Boyer, Larry Boyer, Jannie DeWees, Ted and Laurie Kralovic, Mary Jo Pedley and Dave Rosenfeld all helped relocate the pantry under Mugridge’s direrction.

The UCC Food Pantry, 215 Blackberry Road, is open from 3 to 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.