One Church Street Food Pantry Suffers Major Building Damage
On Feb. 4, One Church Street Food Pantry Director, Mary Gilmour, announced that a flood, stemming from a burst pipe temporarily closed the Food Pantry. The Restoration Company was on location the same day. They cleaned up all the soggy tiles, wet bread, cardboard boxes and debris. They also had an industrial sized water sucking machine that worked on drying out the carpeting.
The next day, Pantry volunteers Mary, MariJo and Pat came in to check out what needed to be tossed (not as much as you might think!) and help clean up the shelves. They were, as always, hard-working and cheerful, and the only reason they were there was so they would be ready for our guests to arrive that weekend.
On Feb. 7, the Pantry was able to give out pre-packed bags of food during its regularly scheduled Saturday open hours. OCS is working hard to reestablish our Free Choice Pantry in some way for this week.
As of Feb. 9, the Restoration Company was still on the job and were cutting open some of the insulation around the ducts in the reception area because it is soaking wet. They were also opening up the spaces where water has bubbled up the paint in order to help the walls dry out. There are still massive blowers, fans and other heating elements providing constant warmth and moving air to continue the process of drying out the space.
The adjuster is scheduled to be at OCS on Feb. 10, to go through the building to begin the process of estimating the cost of the damage.
Our spirits can’t be dampened!
The work is starting!
October 2026 – Many of you have asked about the restoration work after the flooding that occurred in February of this year–well it’s beginning next week! Here’s a pic of Matt and Alistair working together to empty a closet at the Pantry (this is one of many loads that headed down into storage). This will impact our Pantry, but we’re doing our best to make sure that our essential work will continue even as the restoration goes on.
How long might it take? 6 – 8 week, we believe, but it could be longer than that. The goal is complete restoration, and then on to the Community Kitchen on the second floor! So much good work ahead, so much good work to do. One Church Street is never boring!!!
On Friday, Mtr. Laurie got to meet the folks who are helping us with the initial phases of the construction–Randy and Darren, from Martin Environmental Services, were reviewing and setting up areas for removing residual areas of asbestos and mold which have to occur before the full construction crew is on site. The asbestos is contained in strips of tape that pose no direct threat to folks working in the building, but all precautions must still be taken–air flow circulation, and completely containing the removal area behind temporary walls.
Things in the Pantry may look a little different as we move forward, but rest assured that we will continue to nourish our neighbors by providing emergency food resources, as we always have!
Darren and Randy cheerfully getting things set for the work beginning next week!
Who knew a baby grand piano could serve as a desk when needed? FYI–we are not going to be able to use this piano once construction of the Community Kitchen begins. It’s also been evaluated and we determined that the condition and quality of the piano would not make it worthwhile for us to restore–plus–there’s not enough space in the Dining Room area. More people, less piano!!!!
