The largest food pantry in Lake County is in need of a larger building.
- Leesburg Benevolence Center serves over 6,000 people each year
- Current building built in 1900s
- Group hopes to raise $700,000 by end of year
Officials with the Benevolence Center in Leesburg say they serve over 6,000 hungry people each year. The food pantry partners with Second Harvest Food Bank to supply families with about 5 days worth of food. They also give out clothing and provide counseling.
Robert Riley uses the food pantry to feed his family. He told us without it they might not have had a Thanksgiving meal this year.
"It would have been cutting it close, but we would have managed somehow," said Riley. "But it's really thankful they do help out a lot."
Lee Evans, the Director of the Benevolence Center, said they get about 24,000 pounds of food each week. They store all of it in their current building, which was built in the 1900's and used to be an old train station.
"We are growing so much that we need a larger and better designed building to serve our clients," said Evans.
He said they're hoping to raise $700,000 by the end of the year for a new building through a fundraiser called "Beyond Thanksgiving." If you would like to help, visit www.christiancarecenter.org/beyondthanksgiving/.