MIAMI (WSVN) - A food pantry locked up by police, and the hundreds who rely on it daily are locked out.
Officers and a locksmith showed up, Monday, as a line of people gathered to get a meal.
The sudden shutdown left plenty scrambling to find food.
It was a frantic scene outside a Liberty City building along Northwest Seventh Avenue, police at the door and locks were seen being changed.
Volunteers rushed in to move equipment and food.
“I feel defeated,” said Sherina Jones, founder of the Village Free(dge) and Pantry. “I definitely feel like I have let the community of folks that depended on us… I have let them down.”
Monday, the operation was evicted from 5507 NW 7th Ave.
“Not giving us any type of notice, they showed up with a locksmith and told us that we had to leave,” said Jones.
The food pantry started in 2020 and has grown to feed 250 people a day from this location. Not anymore. The pantry has now been forced to find different spot to serve.
“Last week it was an event area,” said Danny Agnew, Co-Founder of Roots Collective. “Now, it’s the pantry’s house.”
Another community organization just a few doors down, Roots Black House, opened its doors to help.
“So the operations will not cease,” said Agnew. “We’re still going to allow her to use space.”
But much of the pantry equipment and food is still locked up in the old building, and Jones doesn’t know if or when her old landlord will let her back in.
She said this all stems from a legal battle that started with a fight over roof repairs, and they began withholding their rent.
That would eventually lead to an eviction.
Now, she’s hoping the community can help her continue to help others.
“We don’t have a big capital for us to operate day to day,” said Jones, “so we’re just looking to build relationships and resources so that we could move forward.”
There’s now a GoFundMe page set up if you would like to support the Village Free(dge) and help them find a new location.
7News has called and emailed the leasing company, but so far, we haven’t been able to get a response.
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