Midlothian Senior CitizensFood Pantry In Desperate Need

For seven years, the Midlothian Senior Citizens food pantry has distributed meat and canned and baked goods to seniors from a complex of small rooms in a little-used school in Midlothian. Founder Victoria Massey says she has 441 seniors signed up to receive food. She said most of those have more people, often grandchildren, living in their homes.

However, the Midlothian Independent School District, which owns the former elementary school where the pantry is located, will evict and shut down the pantry if they don't pay the rent.

"It's awful," said Robin Morales, as she stood in line for food. "It's going to affect my family. I'm on a fixed income. I pick up food for my father, he's on a fixed income."

Sard McClendon, an 88-year-old volunteer who works at the pantry every day, says a community of seniors will definitely be effected.

"There's a certain amount of people who won't have enough to eat because they really do need it," McClendon said.

Susie Riley finds it all a bit incomprehensible that MISD needs to charge a non-profit rent, when it just built a shiny new high school. "This is just a small portion of a mostly unused building," Riley says. "And to take that from the people that need it so much is almost an insult."

Vicki Massey first operated the pantry from a trailer and moved  to vacant space at a funeral home before nestling into three back rooms at the school building.

Please help the senior citizens keep their their food pantry. It is a vital "life line" for the community.