GASSAWAY, W.Va. — A member of the board of directors for the Mountaineer Food Bank believes the facility has been pulled back from the brink of closing its doors. However, there is much left to do for the program which provides food items to needy families in 48 West Virginia counties.
Last week the board of directors fired the food bank executive director saying they could not afford his salary. Others left on the payroll assumed the duties he had been handling.
“Through the efforts of a lot of people across the state and generous contributions, we are able to make payroll and we’re able to keep the doors open,” said board member Julie Harris Monday on MetroNews Talkline. “We still have a financial need, but we are no longer in a position where we’re looking three or four weeks ahead saying we can’t make payroll.”
The most pressing financial need is $230,000 in red ink. Harris is unsure exactly how the debt was created. She and other members of the current board were assigned to their positions last August by Braxton County Circuit Court. Once in place, the board did an audit of the books and found the massive debt. They also found themselves out of compliance with the national group Feeding America and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. The board took the agency out of receivership and has worked to shore up the relationship with stakeholders.
“Our absolute goal, obviously is to feed hungry West Virginians, but we are looking to be an agency that is transparent,” said Harris. “I’m not sure that’s always been the agency’s culture.”
She and other board members are looking toward stakeholders, foundations, and other donors to help find a way forward to defray the debt and at the same time continue to provide the food services to shelters and pantries across much of the state.
Harris noted one area which many don’t realize is the cost of transportation. Mountaineer Food Bank trucks are traveling about 5,000 miles a month to make deliveries to their various distribution points. She said the cost is extremely high.
“We are here to serve the hungry people in this state,” said Harris. “It’s reasonable to say the way we’ve been operating has been meeting needs, but we can certainly be more efficient.”
Harris said now that the eminent shutdown is behind them, the next step is working with stakeholders to find ways to improve the operating efficiency, continue to serve the hungry, and find ways to pay down the debt.