Once you get to moving, oh, my goodness. It’s much like you’re moving your house. It’s just like, never ending. But we’re very confident we’ll have a smooth transition as we move over here.”

Deysi Crespo, Katy Christian Ministries executive director

Katy Christian Ministries is moving its food pantry from its 5510 1st St. location to its new facility at 3506 Porter Road. The process is expected to take about a week, with reopening expected the week of Oct. 18.

Deysi Crespo, KCM executive director, said KCM needed some time to successfully make the move.

“The goal is not have an extended closure because of the families trying to serve, but we need to give ourselves time to put everything in place,” Crespo said. “We’re thinking it’s going to take a week. We’re going to need a lot of help from the community.”

Like with any move, things always become more complicated than they seem at first.

“Once you get to moving, oh, my goodness,” Crespo said. “It’s much like you’re moving your house. It’s just like, never ending. But we’re very confident we’ll have a smooth transition as we move over here.”

People receiving the food that KCM distributes will be driving in a new driveway, in a new parking lot, at the new location. Gone will be the days of a line of cars along the street.

The pick-up area, on the north side of the new building, will have two lanes that can hold 10 cars each. In terms of both logistics and traffic safety, this is a welcome change from a line of cars in the street.

“They cannot park on Porter Road,” Crespo said.

The driveway will also accommodate the 18-wheelers bringing food donations for distribution.

The successful opening of the new building, driveway and parking lot brings a close to KCM’s capital campaign. Crespo said the campaign began in October 2020 with the goal of raising money for the building, parking and relocation costs. But as the cost of cement surpassed cost estimates, KCM had to extend its campaign to raise the needed money.

Crespo said people can by nature give into fear and uncertainty when change is involved, especially with the current economic situation. But that didn’t happen in this situation. Crespo said individual contributions and small fundraisers made the difference. The campaign has come to a successful conclusion.

“Giving in nonprofit has decreased all over,” Crespo said. “The fact that our community was able to come through for KCM and to believe in that shared mission that we’re there for our neighbors, I think that is what made it happen.”

The community need is there. In 2021, KCM said its food pantry distributed 1.3 million meals to food insecure families, with a monetary of about $2.9 million. This included 1,320 turkeys and hams.