07/27/2026
💚📢 Important City Reach Update📢💚
We want to share an important update with our community. (La traducción al español se encuentra en la sección de comentarios.)
Our food pantry will be closed this Thursday and throughout the month of August.
This decision was not made lightly. Last Thursday, we experienced an overwhelming level of need, with more than 150 families waiting before we opened and over 250 families served throughout the day. For perspective, that's 816 individuals. Because of this demand, we worked to provide resources until our food supply ran out, and ultimately had to cancel our evening pantry. We know how difficult that was for everyone affected. More than anything, our heart is to see every person in our city have access to the food and resources they need. The reality is that resources are finite, and there are times when difficult decisions must be made so we can continue serving our community well.
One thing we want our community to understand is that our food availability changes from week to week based entirely on donations. We cannot guarantee specific items or quantities by a certain time, and the amount each household receives may vary depending on what has been donated and how much stock is available. As the number of families seeking assistance has grown significantly over the past several months, our food donations, while increasing, have not increased at the same pace. We understand the need is great across our city. It is our heart's desire to provide food, hygiene products, and other essentials to every family facing hardship. Our deepest hope is that no one leaves without help. The reality is that even with an abundant supply of donations, there will still be challenges as we continue to learn, grow, and improve the way we serve our community. We are committed to making thoughtful changes that allow us to care for as many families as possible with fairness, dignity, and compassion.
To continue serving our community as fairly and consistently as possible, we will be making changes to how we distribute food. These changes are intended to help ensure that every household has an opportunity to receive assistance while allowing us to use our food supply responsibly.
During this temporary closure, our team will be focused on several important priorities:
🤝 Improving our procedures so we can better serve our community and respond to the growing need in a way that is fair, safe, and as sustainable as possible.
🥫 Restocking our pantry so we can reopen with the resources needed to serve families well.
🛡️ Supporting our volunteers. Our volunteers faithfully give their time serving City Reach and its community, and we have a responsibility to care for them as well. During this time, we will be implementing additional security measures and reviewing our procedures to help ensure our pantry remains a safe, respectful, and welcoming place for everyone.
❤️ Giving our volunteers time to rest. Our pantry is powered by people who generously give their time and energy each week. After the incredible demand we've experienced, they need an opportunity to recharge so they can continue serving our community.
We also understand that emergencies don't stop just because our doors are temporarily closed. During August, we will be adding an Emergency Assistance Request to our website. Families who are part of our regular pantry community and are experiencing a genuine emergency will be able to complete a questionnaire and contact us through a dedicated email address to be considered for an emergency food bag. While we won't be able to meet every request, we want to provide a way to help those facing urgent circumstances while we work to strengthen our pantry. We will have more information about this in the coming days.
We know this closure may create hardship, and we don't take that lightly. Every decision we make is with the goal of building a stronger pantry that can continue serving our community for the long term.
If you would like to help us prepare for reopening, food donations and financial contributions are always appreciated.
To help those who may need assistance while we are closed, we've included information below for several local food pantries serving our area. If you are in need of food during August, we encourage you to reach out to one of these organizations.
Local Food Pantry Resources:
• Tulakes Food Center
• Reaching Our City
• OKC Dream Center
• Baptist Mission Center
• Bethel Foundation - Food Distribution Center
Thank you to everyone who has shown our volunteers grace, patience, and encouragement. Your support means more than you know. We appreciate your understanding as we take this necessary time to regroup, improve, and prepare to serve our community even better when we reopen. As well, we also encourage you to follow our page and check it regularly. We will use Facebook to share important updates, including weather closures, unexpected schedule changes, delays, food availability, and any future changes to our pantry procedures.
We look forward to seeing you again in September, truly!
