Vicki Smith doesn’t want to be around when most of the food at Martha’s Pantry gets thrown away.
“I’ll cry too hard,” said Smith, the pantry’s executive director.
The shelves had been freshly stocked with nonperishable food on Tuesday, the day before First Congregational Church of Christ in Hazel Dell was damaged by a fire that officials ruled an arson. For three years, Martha’s Pantry has operated out of an 800-square-foot space in the church’s basement. It’s the only pantry in Clark County dedicated to those who have HIV or AIDS.
About 60 percent of the food must be tossed due to smoke damage. The damage is hard to see, but inside the pantry a slight stench of smoke lingers. A glass of water set out in the pantry on Thursday morning had turned the color of honey by Friday morning.
“All this has to be thrown out. Nothing here can be salvaged,” Smith said, gesturing toward shelves of food. Food in permeable packaging, such as cardboard or plastic wrap, has to be discarded, according to Clark County Public Health.
“The smoke gets in everything,” and contains carcinogens, Smith said. “With our vulnerable community, we cannot afford to expose anybody to a potential threat.”
Those with HIV or AIDS have compromised immune systems, making cleanliness a top priority. On Friday, volunteers were wiping down canned goods with disinfecting wipes and putting them in bins to stow for distribution at the new location. They planned to throw away all baby food and baby items.
Smith hopes to reopen the pantry at Vancouver Heights United Methodist Church, so long as the church board approves the move Sunday.
“Our goal is to be open and operational by next Thursday,” Smith said. “We need to have a place for our people to go.”
Normally, the pantry is open Thursdays and Fridays, and on Tuesdays clients get together for games or outings.
‘I was crying’
When Yvette Mercer heard the church had burned, she said, “I was crying. I was very devastated.”
The 48-year-old started coming to Martha’s Pantry in 2005. At events, she shares her story about living with HIV. Her 5-year-old son, Jayden, does not have HIV.
“When we first started coming to Martha’s Pantry when they were downtown, it was scary at first but the most lifesaving thing,” Mercer said. “We support each other. We pray for each other.”
Martha’s Pantry serves about 70 families every month and runs solely on volunteers. Its yearly operating budget is about $40,000, Smith said. Because it’s one of the smaller pantries in Clark County and serves a niche community, she said, she knows many clients intimately.
“We’ve had people say that we’ve saved their lives, and it wasn’t because we gave them a bag of food. Our mission here is improving the quality of life,”Smith said.
Some clients visit the pantry every week. Martha’s Pantry isn’t the only group that used First Congregational’s space. Alcoholics Anonymous, Weight Watchers and a couple of other congregations met at the church.
Investigation continues
Fire investigators have been busy the past few days collecting evidence and following leads on the two church fires that happened this week, Clark County Fire Marshal Jon Dunaway said. After First Congregational United Church of Christ in Hazel Dell sustained heavy damage early Wednesday, firefighters were called to another church fire about 24 hours later. That fire, at Liberty Bible Church of the Nazarene, was extinguished by sprinklers.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the investigation.
Though no fires were reported at any local churches on Friday morning, Dunaway said that he encouraged church leaders to remain cautious throughout the weekend.
“I would certainly keep the alert level high,” Dunaway said. “We put information out to various places of worship to encourage them to stay vigilant to try to prevent this from happening.”
Emily Gillespie of The Columbian contributed to this report.
