JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - The Quonset hut at South Joplin Christian Church is performing quite well as a temporary home for Crosslines and its emergency food assistance program.
The building was used as a dormitory for teams of volunteers who came to Joplin after the 2011 tornado to help with the cleanup and rebuilding effort, The Joplin Globe (http://bit.ly/1F4096l) reported. The beds in those dormitories are now being used as shelves to sort and store food.
"Necessity is the mother of invention," said Rikki Smith, assistant director of Crosslines.
Crosslines Churches of the Joplin Area, a coalition of churches that offers a variety of services to low-income families and individuals, has been in the building for about a month and will remain there until early October. That's when a newly refurbished building for Crosslines will be ready for occupancy.
The Quonset hut has a limited amount of refrigeration space. To compensate for that, donations are being routed directly to the organizations, such as St. Peter's Outreach House, that use them.
"We're making this work," said Kathy Lewis, director of Crosslines.
Orders from the emergency food pantry have been holding steady at 15 to 20 per day. Smith said that is comparable to when Crosslines operated at another location, which was purchased from Crosslines by the city of Joplin. It has been transformed into a locker room and training site for the Joplin Blasters baseball team.
The distribution of government food commodities, which would normally take place through the office, is being handled differently.
Lewis said, "We've got some changes coming down the pike."
Volunteer Art Coller, of the First United Methodist Church, recently stacks canned goods at the new Crosslines location at South Joplin Christian Church. More than 60 Joplin churches participate in the food pantry, which has been at the temporary location for about a month. A new building for Crosslines will be ready in October.
Beginning in July, government food commodities will be distributed on Wednesdays at the former Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
"We will distribute government commodities every Wednesday from the old ReStore," Lewis said. "The Crosslines here on South Joplin Avenue will be closed on Wednesdays to permit us to do that."
Crosslines recently received a $27,000 grant from the United Way's tornado relief fund to purchase technology and furnishings for Crosslines' new home.
Churches, hospitals, social services and other organizations refer people to Crosslines for assistance with food, rent and utilities. Crosslines is accepting donations at the Quonset hut.
Crosslines, which is supported by 62 area churches, distributed 230,000 pounds of donated food in 2014, serving 600 to 1,000 families per month.