A non-profit in Arlington, damaged in last week's tornado, plans to reopen with limited services Wednesday. Arlington Charities has been without electricity since last Tuesday's tornado; the storm also destroyed the condenser for the building's walk-in cooler and freezer.
"That makes it difficult to continue to provide service," says Arlington Charities Executive Director Deborah Coppola. "We are working with a rental company to rent two refrigerated trucks, one for our frozen food, one for our refrigerated food, so we'll be able to start distributing again, with or without power."
Arlington Charities is closed Monday and Tuesday, but Coppola says she plans to restore limited service Wednesday. Individuals will need appointments to pick up food.
Coppola says Arlington Charities had been helping about 60 families per day prior to the pandemic. She says that number had increased to 200 families per day this year.
"It's a huge need in our community," she says. "Folks are already out of work, already struggling in our community. My guess is, when we do reopen, we will be very busy."
In addition to the tornado hitting during a pandemic, she says the timing, just before Thanksgiving, will add additional problems. She says Arlington Charities had finished Thanksgiving distribution, but the non-profit plans to begin Christmas distribution in two weeks.
"The timing is really difficult for us, to be impacted with no power," Coppola says. "We're trying to get food in, get boxes packed for these families, as well as, obviously, now, there's another whole layer of additional expenses we had not budgeted for. We are rearranging and making sure everything happens, so we are here for our families."
Arlington Charities says just 3% of donations are used to pay administrative costs. Last year, the non-profit distributed 2,269,689 pounds of food.
"We're making it work because there are so many who do need that support. I feel very fortunate our Arlington community is very supportive," Coppola says.
