October 1 marked the first day open for the Food Pantry at Fannin County Family Connection’s new location at 501 Industrial Rd. in Blue Ridge. And, at just .1 miles from the old location, it’s still convenient for folks to find.
While the food pantry is open for business the building renovation is still underway and volunteers are still needed. Executive Director Sherry Morris said she anticipates three to four more weeks of work before the organization is ready for full business operations. Volunteers are needed, she added, especially for painting walls and for floor cleanup.
Of all the people and businesses who have donated their time, money, materials and expertise, Morris said, “We are greatly blessed here.”
Morris and the others involved with Family Connection are excited about the new location. “We feel this building will fit the needs of Family Connection better than our previous location simply because the layout is better and more suited to the activities we do. We’ve been able to increase the size of the pantries, so we can have more food in storage and be able to serve more people,” she said.
The facility boasts what could be the largest meeting room in town, she said. The room can accommodate 150 people comfortably and will offer training tables and chairs. Family Connection received a grant from the George Link Charitable Trust that will supply much of the needed funds to finish the room, said Morris.
“We’ll have a community room that is available to the community to use. If you’re non-profit or faith-based, the room would be available to you free of charge. Otherwise, there would be a minimal charge for use of the room,” Morris said.
Many of the volunteers will be in this large community room painting and cleaning the cement floors to prepare them for carpet.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering or who may have questions is asked to call the Family Connection office at 706-632-6063.