BUDA — Buda United Methodist Church is working on rebuilding a component of its food pantry after suffering damage in early May.
The food pantry at Buda UMC is a certified site of the Community Partner Program through Texas Department of Health and Human Services, part of a statewide network of community-based organizations seeking to make it easier and more efficient for members of the community to find out more about and apply for state-wide benefits.
The pantry dates back 20-30 years, starting with various donations within the community and congregation and it’s only grown from there to now provide fresh produce, frozen meat packets, canned goods and other grocery items to approximately 75-80 households per week, explained Michael Goodroe, head of the Missions Committee.
However, on Monday, May 19, an individual vandalized the temporary building next to the church that is used for registration with hard copy records and storage prior to distribution for the food pantry. According to Goodroe, sometime overnight, an individual broke a window, took a garden hose from the adjacent courtyard area, ran it through the building and turned on the water to flood the structure.
The staff and volunteers did not discover the damage until the morning of Tuesday, May 20, and immediately reported it to the Buda Police Department, who is currently conducting an investigation.
“There have not been any developments since the case was filed; however, it is still an active investigation,” said Freddy Erman, community affairs office for Buda PD.
Some of the food products that were housed in the temporary building were able to be salvaged and transported to the Historic Buda Elementary School — as Buda UMC has rented out space in the cafeteria from the school district in order to use the walk-in refrigerator and freezer units — with the food pantry’s sorting group that volunteers on Tuesdays.
“Since that time, we've had a remediation [team] in trying to dry the building out, pull the floor [and baseboards] up,” Goodroe said. “We are in the process of getting a damage assessment to the structural integrity of the building.”
As of May 29, Goodroe said that the church’s Finance Committee elected to consider the cost-benefit and affordability of replacing the structure outright. While he is unsure what the result of that will be, he stated that either a repair or replacement will be an “unprogrammed five figure expense to the church.”
Though it is an inconvenience because it is more of a hike to bring items from the cafeteria over to the distribution site, than it was from the temporary building on the church’s campus, Goodroe said they are still in business and volunteers will continue to do Saturday operations.
The food pantry distribution occurs from 10 a.m. to noon every Saturday at 302 Elm Street in Buda and it serves zip codes 78610 and 78640, due to its smaller size, but will not turn anyone away who is in need of food.
For more information about the food pantry, including details on monetary and food donations, visit www.budaumc.org/food-and-social-services-assistance.
