PRINEVILLE, OR -- Prineville's St. Vincent de Paul Food bank will close at the end of this month, due to a lack of money. The last eight grants the nonprofit applied for were rejected, leaving the nonprofit without sufficient operating funds.
St. Vincent de Paul has been in Crook County since 1985 and runs its current operation out of a building on Court Street. President Jim Rodosevich says the loss to the community is significant, "Currently, we supply clients in Crook County, of which there are like 22,000 people. And [in 2017] we distributed 223,000 pounds of food to 9,600 people." The organization also has a social services arm to assist people with rent and utility bills, and a used clothing service sells up to 6,000 pounds of donated clothes per year to help with overhead costs.
He tells KBND News the bank account will be empty by September, but all hope is not lost, "We've simply got to close our doors and regroup. And, the plan, is to contract into a much smaller building and operate a food bank only. But, in order to get to that point there, we've got to relinquish this operation here." Rodosevich believes could take two to four months, "We've got to build those funds back up through, primarily, individual donations. And perhaps at that point, there may be some capital funds out there from grantors that would be able to help buy that building, but that would take time beyond leaving this location."
Rodosevich says food distribution will end August 31, and the doors will close entirely by the end of September.
