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Date: 10/26/2022
SOUTHWICK — The deal for the Southwick Civic Fund to purchase the home of Our Community Food Pantry is final after months of waiting following the closure of Southwick’s United Methodist Church.
Southwick Civic Fund President Joseph Deedy said the deal was made final at 10 a.m. Oct. 17. The food pantry and the former church have shared a property for years, but the arrangement was thrown into question in July when the congregation voted to disband and the property on College Highway near Congamond Road was put up for sale. The food pantry serves Southwick, Granville and Tolland.
The Southwick Civic Fund then offered to purchase the entire property in order to save Our Community Food Pantry, and possibly give it some upgrades. Further funding will be needed in order to keep the pantry there in the long term, Deedy said, and he is working with local legislators to secure that funding from the state.
“We are hoping to build a new building on those grounds. If not, they stay there until they can figure it out,” said Deedy.
The food pantry currently uses a small house on the edge of the church property. Deedy has said that he wants to be able to give them a larger space, now that the deal is done, which will likely require the construction of a new building on the property. He said he would like the new building to have more warehouse storage space and to be handicap accessible.
The Civic Fund is a nonprofit organization funded by private donations.