Milton Community Food Pantry buys new facility

Milton Community Food Pantry has attained a long-term goal with the purchasing of a new building on Union Street Extended that is expected to open in spring 2023.

Until then, food distributions will continue twice a month at Water’s Edge church on Route 16.

The pantry’s leadership team of Donna Murawski, Tom DiOrio and Lawrence Bivens Sr. said numerous improvements must be done on the nearly one-acre parcel before it can open. The property includes a 1,000-square-foot home that will be used for storage and office space, but big improvements will occur outside with plans to widen the semicircle driveway, demolish existing secondary structures and build a pole barn, which will include freezer space and additional storage. DiOrio said the pantry still has to fundraise for all the improvements. 

The pantry has been looking for its own space for three years now. For much of its existence, the pantry distributed food from Goshen Hall on Federal Street, but the site did not offer permanent storage space and the building was put up for sale by Goshen United Methodist Church. 

The pantry relocated its operations to the new Water’s Edge church on Route 16, and while distributions will still be done there for the foreseeable future, the pantry lost its storage space when the church began renovations. 

“It’s kind of like living out of a suitcase,” DiOrio said. 

Murawski, MCFP president, said distributions will still continue twice a month at Water’s Edge. The intention is that once the new pantry facility is up and running, they will have distributions once a week. She said the pantry also intends to have gardens on site to grow fresh produce. 

She said the pantry is cognizant that the facility is in a residential area and officials want to make every effort not to disrupt the neighborhood. DiOrio added that the intention is to ensure volunteers are on hand to guide traffic from Union Street Extended. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry began drive-thru distributions; the intention is to keep that in place, as pantry officials believe it keeps lines moving and improves safety. 

The pantry’s site plan has not yet been approved by Sussex County Planning & Zoning; that will be given once the pantry meets conditions that include widening driveway aprons and adding wayfinding signs. The pantry distributes food in boxes that include mostly dry goods with some fresh vegetables and raw meats. One of the conditions of the pantry’s preliminary site-plan approval is that it cannot sell precooked food. 

While distributions are not taking place there yet, Murawski said the new building is being used for storage; the site currently has three refrigerators and freezers. Bivens said early estimates for the pole barn and its associated costs are around $300,000. 

Still, the pantry's leadership is excited to finally have a place to call their own.

“It’s been a long process. It’s such a relief,” Murawski said. “This is such a big step for the Milton Community Food Pantry to finally have our own dedicated building from which we can store food, pack food and distribute.”