After twelve years of feeding the hungry in Newberry, a food pantry may have to shut its doors.
Antonio Felipe was arrested by Alachua County deputies one day after Blessed Hope was set on fire. Witnesses say they saw him running from the store. The fire took out the store's electricity. The city supplied a temporary pole to keep things running, but that runs out in one month.
Founder of Blessed Hope, Evelyn McKoy, says, "were going to have to just start whittling down so that we don't have any food until we can find until we know that we have a place."
Blessed Hope is asking people to stop giving donations, because without a place to put them, or knowing where they're going to end up, they can't take them.
Antonio Felipe told investigators he was drunk when he entered the store intending to steal a few things to sell. Felipe is still in jail.
Evelyn McKoy was occupying the space, rent free, and the burned building cannot be restored back to city code.
Donations can be made to:
PO Box 722
Newberry, Fl 32669