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Talent terminates lease for food pantry space Sunday Jan 8, 2017 at 12:01 AM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune TALENT — The town’s food pantry needs a new location by mid-February after the City Council terminated its lease of space in the former library building that also serves as the Talent Historical Society’s museum at 105 N. Market St. “They have been in there over 11 years. They have outgrown the space they were designated to have,” said Jan Wright, secretary of the historical society board. “It was just one corner of the museum. Now they take over the entire building on Thursdays.” Council members voted on Dec. 14 to terminate the lease in 60 days. The pantry is run by the ACCESS Food Share program. Pickup of supplies takes place on Thursdays from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Museum board President Ron Medinger reported that ACCESS has a mobile food pantry that could be parked outside the city’s Community Center Building, but the organization has rejected that proposal. ACCESS wants a place where clients can wait inside, and the center would offer that option. About 15 families were served weekly by the pantry when it first stated using the museum, said Wright. Now, about 40 families per week use the museum, which results in Thursday closures. A museum board member usually attends to ensure museum assets are protected. Leases between the city and the museum and food group expired several years ago and are now on a month-to-month basis. A new agreement between the city and the museum has been held up by efforts to resolve food bank issues. The food pantry agreement calls for use of just a small space in the museum to the left of the entrance. Society and city officials have tried to work with the pantry to resolve issues. “I believe we are going to find a solution to it,” said Philip Yates, director of the ACCESS program. He plans to schedule a meeting with the city in the near future. Yates said he agreed with the assessment that the food pantry had outgrown the space. Talent’s arrangement is unique in that ACCESS manages the program and coordinates volunteers. In other communities, churches or organizations run the pantries and ACCESS serves as food supplier. City officials want to replace flooring in the museum, but not while it serves as a food service center, said City Manager Tom Corrigan. Use of the former Talent Urban Renewal office building on Home Street has also been suggested, but issues with handicapped access and the building's historical status would need to be resolved, he said. “They do have alternatives. We would never have just made them homeless,” said the historical society's Wright. Talent’s food pantry serves up to 200 families, and the program has seen continued growth over the years, said Yates. A family can get a five- to seven-day supply of food 12 times per year at the pantry. Most come once per month, he said. Wright said the museum could be opened on Thursdays if the food bank didn’t take over the space. “We have grown, and we have gotten a lot more displays in there and lots more storage,” said Wright. She said museum volunteers find that displays have been pushed back by food pantry workers when they come in on Fridays. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]