After the fire, new life for Martha’s Pantry

Not long after Neuschwander and the board at Vancouver Heights agreed to host the pantry, they sweetened the deal: Martha’s Pantry could build there, too. There’s a grassy lot on the west side of the main sanctuary where Smith envisions erecting a 4,000-square-foot building. On Thursday, workers tore down diseased trees, creating even more space around the church.

Ideally, the building would have a full kitchen, community and office space, a laundry room and comply with access guidelines under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s something Smith and other longtime volunteers have dreamed about for years. With adequate space, the pantry could offer more services and store more goods. In that way, Smith sees the silver lining to the church fire, which caused an estimated $2 million damage.

“You can look at it and cry because you lost something, or you can look at it and rejoice because you have a new opportunity,” Smith said. “Pretty soon we’ll have a new house.”

She plans to meet with the city of Vancouver next week to get a better idea of what’s permissible.

In the meantime, Martha’s Pantry is still working on completely moving out of its old space and refilling the shelves at the new, smaller space. The pantry occupies a corner of the fellowship hall at Vancouver United that’s cordoned off by a temporary wall. Longtime volunteer Jerry West plans to paint the wall with a mural of the Feeding of the 5,000, a story in the Bible where Jesus feeds a multitude with five barley loaves and two fish.

Individuals and groups have dropped off loads of food and helped moved things from one church to the other. Esther’s Pantry of Milwaukie, Ore., which also caters to people with HIV and AIDS, is delivering food today.

“The community has been so incredible in responding,” Smith said.

Through the summer, Martha’s Pantry also will occupy a classroom. It’s being used to store a refrigerator and freezer that still reek of smoke. Currently, the pantry isn’t giving away household goods and clothing because there’s no space to store them.

Smith said her focus will shift away from day-to-day operations and more toward launching a capital campaign for the new building that she estimates will cost $300,000 to $400,000. She hopes that someday, the focus of the pantry can shift away from HIV and AIDS — because there won’t be any more locals with the disease — leaving the nonprofit to address all people living in poverty. The pantry doesn’t turn away anybody who needs food, regardless of whether they have the disease.

While AIDS hasn’t been cured, medicinal treatments have improved the lives of those living with it. It’s seen as more of a chronic disease than a fatal one, Smith said, because people can live relatively long by taking medicines that regulate symptoms.

However, she added, the pantry continues educating people about prevention. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two to three Martha’s Pantry clients die each year. The husband of a client who died shortly before the fire brought his truck to help during the move.

“We keep going because people care,” Smith said.