CLEARWATER - Religious Community Services Inc. is $1-million short in its efforts to buy the property that houses its food pantry at Druid Road and Myrtle Avenue.
Signed in July, the $1.6-million deal is scheduled to close Feb. 9. But as the deadline looms, agency officials are scrambling to boost donations to avoid taking out a loan for the 3.8-acre property.
"It would hurt services, simply put," RCS spokeswoman Stephany Dawson said Tuesday.
Borrowing $1-million would cost roughly $8,000 a month for the next 30 years, Dawson estimated. That money, she said, would be better spent on serving the poor.
"Right now, 92 cents on every dollar goes back into program services," Dawson said. "We're a lean machine."
Food pantry director Jamia Austin said officials may be forced to cut hours of operation and limit clients' visits to once a month, rather than two.
Dawson said the agency has enough money in reserve to cover payments on a potential loan, at least in the beginning.
"But that's not a realistic long-term plan for us," she said. "If we're going to hold on to the property, we're going to have to get some more folks to step up."
If not, RCS may be forced to sell a portion of it, she said.
So far, Clearwater and Largo have contributed roughly $99,000 in federal block grants for the project, and Pinellas County has pledged $250,000.
This month, the congregation of Clearwater Beach's Chapel by the Sea will be asked to approve a $25,000 pledge from the church's Oleta Redden fund.
Pastor Herbert Freitag said he hopes other area churches will contribute to the food pantry, the only large-scale operation of its kind in north Pinellas.
"It's not serving just the people of Clearwater; it's serving everybody," he said. "It really meets a desperate need in the community."
RCS statistics show the food pantry serves nearly 4,000 people each month, mostly single working mothers and their children. Last year, it helped 44,954 people, including 16,656 children under 18.
In July, RCS inked the deal on the food pantry property after a three-year search for a permanent home.
The $1.6-million agreement also includes another warehouse and the former Scotty's hardware store at 610 Myrtle St.
The deal followed the collapse of another plan to buy a smaller site 1 mile north on Myrtle at the corner of Hart Street.
That sale fell through after neighbors complained bitterly and RCS failed to meet parking requirements and gain the required city approval.
The new, larger site costs roughly double the original deal.
On Tuesday, Austin said she is sure more contributions will come through.
"I believe that we're going to be okay," she said. "I believe my million-dollar donor is out there."
