Last Saturday the Clearwater-Clear Lake Food Shelf hosted an open house in their new building, inviting the public and organizations instrumental to its success to see what all the planning, fundraising, and hard work had accomplished.

Food Shelf President Mary Abraham was instrumental to the new building’s actualization. 

“I’d been president of the food shelf for several years,” said Abraham. “Then COVID hit and we lost one of our best volunteers. We were in a small building and were paying the city rent. I thought, ‘let’s take a leap of faith and see what we can do.’”

For 26 years prior to the opening of the new building, the food shelf had occupied a space of approximately 400 square feet in the Clearwater Lions Community Building. Client usage grew steadily during this time, and recently, because of rising food costs, the organization saw an increase of 20% of those in need, which the original location wasn’t able to meet.

Abraham’s leap of faith led to years of hard work, which included a lot of fundraising and grant writing, which she attended a class to learn how to do. She ultimately wrote nine grants, only being turned down by one. 

“I truly believe there’s a higher power,” she said. “I had to go through a lot of channels for this project, and it led me to one door, then another, and so on. Nearly $300,000 has been raised for this venture so far, and more keeps coming in.”

“What an accomplishment,” said Lions International Governor Deb Weston. “Tremendous commitment of the area Lions Clubs and all the volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen.” 

Parts of the project are still being finished, such as the tarred and curbed parking lot that was just completed the evening before the open house. An in-floor scale was also recently installed.

A striking feature in the new building is the ‘Giving Tree’ artwork on the wall. Beautifully carved out of wood, the tree itself features a hand amongst its branches, signifying the helping hand of the food shelf. Each of the tree’s leaves has the name of an organization or individual/s who helped the new building come to fruition with their generous donations of $100 and up, which are recognized by different leaf colors.

“It is amazing what a community can do when we unite for a cause that’s dear to our hearts,” said Abraham. “We thank those who have made it possible to open our doors to such a beautiful building to serve the needs of our community and surrounding area. Our forever appreciation to all that have made this happen.”

Money is still needed for the Food Shelf, with the next fundraiser scheduled for October 18 at the Clearwater Legion.

The new Clearwater-Clear Lake Food Shelf building is across the street from the original, at 1135 Co. Road 75 in Clearwater.