Kitchen reopens with local support

Barely a week after a fire broke out in the Community Kitchen of Monroe County, 917 S. Rogers St., the facility is working at full steam. \nFood programs, including the evening meal served from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, resumed Thursday. Packed lunches for youth agencies began Monday. \n"It was possible to bounce back so quickly because of the tremendous support that we received from the community, individuals, churches, other agencies and even businesses," said Director Julio Alonso.\nFollowing the fire, food had to be removed from the kitchen and pantries because of extensive smoke damage. Scott Smith, chief fire officer of the Bloomington Fire Department, said the flames were caused by combustible material stored next to the water heater. Damages exceed $16,000, but Alonso said about two-thirds of it will be covered by insurance. \nThe kitchen supplies about 250 evening meals per day, including on-site meals and carry-outs. And the non-profit organization delivers 50-100 "Feed our Future Youth" meals to at-risk teens around the city.\nIn the week following the fire, the kitchen's evening meals were served from the Shalom Center, in the basement of the First Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St. Staff and volunteers worked through New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to get back to work. Repairs are continuing.\n"We wanted to keep our down time to a minimum because of the number of people who rely on our services," Alonso said. "We were very fortunate in that everyone came forth with help and support including donations of supplies and services as well as logistical help and support." \nFood supplies had to be discarded. The pantries cannot be restocked until repair work finishes. Storage spaces were reassessed and relocated, all kitchen and related equipment was washed and sterilized and the majority of the food supplies discarded. \nFood donations have been coming in from the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, 615 N. Fairview St., but the kitchen is appealing to the community for donations. The most urgent need is for canned foods, spices, salad dressings, pasta, baking supplies, ground beef and kids' individual snacks.\n"We did not want to take any chances with the food supplies. Anything that was stored in paper, or that was not in its original container … that had the slightest doubt of having been damaged was discarded in the interests of health. If we erred, it was on the side of caution," said Seth Mahern, operations manager for the organization.\nAlonso credited the support the kitchen received as "the silver lining" in the cloud. "It was a hard lesson to learn and took a lot of time and energy and hard work to get back to regular work again, but the good thing was it generated tremendous community support and everyone came together to help" he said. \nTo donate, call the Community Kitchen at 332-0999.