After a seven-year search for a larger location, Atascadero-based ALF Food Pantry just closed on a new property.
Located at the former Ted Miles Motors dealership on El Camino Real, ALF Board President Tim Eckles says he hopes the new space can home other nonprofits that provide essential services, functioning as “ basically a campus of nonprofits.”
The food pantry supplies groceries to people living in Atascadero, Templeton, Santa Margarita, Creston and California Valley. Eckles says they frequently serve more than 200 people a day.
“ Our numbers have grown particularly in the last 10 years,” Eckles said. He believes that increase in demand could be the result of people moving to the area, an increase in grocery costs and more recently, disruptions in SNAP benefits.
That high demand plus limited space has meant volunteer staff have had to restock most of the shelves every morning, Eckles says, and made finding a new, bigger homebase critical.
Eckles says he hopes they can simplify the floor plan by switching from individual appliances to larger, walk-in freezers and fridges. There are also plans to install solar panels to cut down on their large electricity bill.
More design and construction will need to be completed before the pantry can switch locations. The current goal is to move this summer, according to Eckles.
After more than a decade of volunteering with the organization, Eckles credits the team at ALF Food Pantry for keeping him involved for so long, who he calls humble and “very receptive to those that are in need.”
“I'm lifted up by them every day. They're just terrific people,” Eckles said. “So that's why I do what I do.”
