Read more: Local, Economy, Hope Center, Pike County, Bowling Green, Food Pantry, Tax Credit
It's only open for a couple of hours, three times a week, and you're only allowed to go there once a month.
It the Hope Center of Pike County in Bowling Green, Missouri.
It's been a huge help for people for the last several years.
However, the number of people it serves has grown quite a bit in the past few years.
And recently, the center itself is having a growth spurt.
These are just a few of the 26 volunteers who help run the Hope Center of Pike County. As with any organization similar to these, it could always use more volunteers. One reason, the number of people it serves keeps going up. Three years ago, it served more than 500 people. This year, it's up to more than 800. Right now everything is pretty well stocked, but the administrator tells me the center usually gets a lot of donations this time of year.
"Don't forget us after the first of the year because this is a 12 month thing. When the food goes down, it makes it hard for us to serve people," says Administrator Barbara Henderson.
Serving people is about to get a little easier because the Board of Directors recently bought the building that houses the Hope Center, and it has plans to expand next door. That way there will be one side for food items, and one side for clothing.
"We can't wait to get in it to have more room for people. Our workers are trying to work, people are looking at clothes. It makes it really hard because we're crawling all over each other," says Henderson.
And here's where you can help.
"We're looking for people who will volunteer to help us clean it up. We have to completely start from scratch. Take everything out and start over," says Henderson.
Someone has already volunteered to do the wiring, but if you have any carpentry skills, or like to paint, the Hope Center could use you. Even if you have no skills, the center could still use people to help clean up. There is no time frame as to when the expansion will be done because the center will have to work at the pace of the volunteers. But based on the need, the center would like to see the expansion complete sooner than later.
The upstairs of the new addition will be left untouched for now.
But if the need continues to grow, the Hope Center has the option of renovating the second floor for more space.
If you'd like to volunteer, you can contact The Hope Center of Pike County at 573-324-6255.
It may be a good time to donate to a food pantry in Missouri because of the Food Pantry Tax Credit.
The credit is for 50 percent of a cash contribution or half the value of the food you donate.
So, if you donate a hundred dollars, you would get a 50 dollar tax credit on the amount you owe on your state income tax return.
The credit is capped at 25 hundred dollars.
For more information on the tax credit, log onto http://dor.mo.gov/tax/taxcredit/fpt.htm
