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Carroll County food pantry requests three months' rent; board members ask about donations and reserves
Summary
The Community of Concerned Food Pantry asked the Carroll County Board of Supervisors for a short-term rent grant equivalent to roughly three months' costs and described heavy reliance on donations and limited government support. Supervisors asked about year-to-year revenue swings and existing funding sources.
Roxanne Reinhardt, director of the Community of Concerned Food Pantry, told the Carroll County Board of Supervisors the pantry is seeking support equal to about three months' rent to help serve county residents in need.
Reinhardt said the pantry is not income-based and that anyone in need may use its services. "We are asking for a couple months worth of rent," she said, describing a mix of boxed, canned and frozen foods, bakery items and meat distributed in balanced quantities and noting the pantry operates with one part-time paid employee and volunteers.
The pantry requested $3,150 for the year’s funding cycle, Reinhardt said; she told supervisors the county awarded the pantry $2,610 last year. She also described other funding and donation sources: a monthly $400 payment from the Department of Human Services that supports the volunteer program, gifts from United Way and the county, and in-kind food donations from Fairway, Hy‑Vee and Walmart. "We get $400 a month from the government," Reinhardt said.
Supervisors pressed for clarification after reviewing the pantry’s tax filing. Commissioner Mike Anderson asked why the pantry’s 2023 revenue and expense figures showed a large difference; Reinhardt said donation levels fluctuate year to year and that several large donors had died in the past year. She also described operational constraints: the pantry has seven freezers but sometimes must decline large pallets of donations that it cannot store or distribute.
Reinhardt said the pantry also helps residents connect to longer-term programs such as SNAP, HUD assistance and school lunch programs, and assists with applications when requested. She invited supervisors and staff to visit the pantry to observe operations.
No formal county funding decision was taken during the meeting; Reinhardt’s request was presented during the agenda item for fiscal year 2026 funding requests and discussed but not voted on.
