Virginia church closes after people stop coming. Final gift helps provide 35,000 community meals.

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — The Colonial Heights Food Pantry recently received a $10,000 donation from Colonial Heights Christian Church — a congregation that closed its doors after membership declined to the point it could no longer continue operating.

According to pantry officials, the gift is enough to provide 35,000 meals to the community.

Ralph Small delivered the check on behalf of the church.

"We knew about them because we delivered for them for a good while," Small said.

WTVR

Colonial Heights Christian Church sold its building to the City of Colonial Heights, and every dollar made in that transaction has be donated by the church.

About two dozen organizations will receive checks from the sale proceeds.

The pantry depends on both food and monetary donations to carry out its mission and operates a high-volume operation.

On a busy Monday morning, volunteer crews were offloading dozens of boxes of food and organizing them around the warehouse for easy disbursement.

Warren Hammonds, executive director of the Colonial Heights Food Pantry, said staying well organized is key to the operation running smoothly, given the scale of food the pantry moves each year.

"We are providing about 740,000 to 750,000 pounds of food to the community and that converts to a little bit less than 700,000 meals," Warren Hammonds said.

The pantry operates on an annual budget of about $445,000, with roughly half coming from community donors.

The impact of the $10,000 check is significant when measured in meals.

"We provide about three and a half meals, per dollar we receive from a community donation. Do the math on that $10,000 and that's 35,000 meals that the church is just providing with the one check," Hammonds said.

For Hammonds, the donation carries meaning beyond its dollar value.

WTVR

"I'm most grateful that a church within our midst, would think of our services here at the Colonial Heights Food Pantry, worthy enough and trust worthy enough for them to give that amount of money," Hammonds said.

To donate to the Colonial Heights Food Pantry online, visit the Colonial Heights Food Pantry donation page.

To donate by mail, send a check to:

Colonial Heights Food Pantry
530 Southpark Blvd.
Colonial Heights, VA 23834

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