The Forney Food Pantry, formerly known as the New Life Food Pantry, has had some trying times since their building was severely damaged by the April 3, 2012 tornado that tore through Forney. In August, the building damage had still not been repaired as the Sealy Company that owns the building dealt with their insurance company to try and reach an agreement. An agreement now appears to have been reached to fix the damage to the building.
The Forney Food Pantry, formerly known as the New Life Food Pantry, has had some trying times since their building was severely damaged by the April 3, 2012 tornado that tore through Forney. In August, the building damage had still not been repaired as the Sealy Company that owns the building dealt with their insurance company to try and reach an agreement. An agreement now appears to have been reached to fix the damage to the building.
Sealy Company owns all of the metal buildings at the Mustang Creek Business Park North off of Highway 80 and Mustang Road. The building at 222 Industrial Drive is home to the Forney Food Pantry because of the generosity of Sealy and its Property Manager, Howell Jones. The Food Pantry pays no rent for the building, which helps provide more funding to help the neediest in our community.
Forney Food Pantry needs community's help: April tornado severely damaged their building
The 4,800 square foot building received heavy damage from the tornado, but the pantry manager Taressa Adams felt that they were very fortunate. The metal building next to theirs was completely destroyed by the EF-3 tornado, and though the pantry was badly damaged, no one was inside the building at the time. In August, Adams told inForney.com that they were hoping the insurance company would pay to fix the building, but if not, Sealy already offered the pantry a new building if needed. The problem with the new building is that it was basically an empty shell that would need a lot of work to make it usable for the food pantry.
Property Manager Howell Jones verified that as of the end of September, the complicated tornado insurance claim is in the final stages of being worked out. There was concern that a new city zoning ordinance requiring demolished buildings to include a fire suppression system and at least 90 percent brick exterior would cost the insurance company an additional $150,000 to replace the pantry building.
As it turned out, the food pantry can be fixed without needing a complete demolishment. On September 26, 2012, insurance adjusters, engineers, architects, and construction managers met at the damaged building to agree upon what Jones called “the final scope of work for the contractors to bid.” Once a construction bid is approved, the Forney Food Pantry repair can begin, maybe as early as October 15, 2012.
At this time, the community will not need to raise funds to help repair the building, but the pantry is always in need of funds to purchase food. If you would like to help the Forney Food Pantry with monetary or food/toiletry donations, or to volunteer, contact Taressa Adams at 972-552-2011. You can send checks to the Forney Food Pantry at P.O. Box 2343 Forney, TX. 75126. The pantry is located at 222 Industrial Drive and there is a drop off box located outside the front door.
