DOUGLAS, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Douglas Area Food Bank announced earlier this week that its partnership with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona had ended. Now, it's closing its doors.
"We have no food," said Douglas Area Food Bank President, Javier Fimbres. "You can go in the walk-in, and it's empty.”
No food means that the hundreds of people who visit the Douglas Food Bank have to find help elsewhere.
“I had four or five people come up because today was a day for giving out food," Fimbres said. "Our tripod and our windows are blank because we don't have food to give out.”
Chirs Firmage, public relations manager for the Community Food Bank, said they received multiple "civil rights" complaints, prompting the termination of the partnership. He was unable to elaborate further.
“Any complaint could jeopardize our relationship with the Department of Economic Security. So whether the complaints are valid (or) how serious (they) are, we've got to take them seriously,” Firmage said. "We received multiple (complaints), so we had to terminate the partnership."
He said Douglas Area Food Bank can find new partners to support their efforts. Fimbres said they tried to pick up food from Walmart for their weekly distributions and they weren't given any food."
"It's pretty scary, especially when we've already got a St. Vincent de Paul that's really overutilized," said Douglas resident Lawana Diffie. "This shutting down could be catastrophic.”
Alexandra Boneo, owns a bakery near the Douglas Food Bank, and says she’s worried more people will ask her for help.
“(I) randomly get people coming into the business and asking for food because they know there are resources right next door," Boneo said. "Or if someone comes, I'm always saying you can always go next door and we'll feed you today but you can find more of a stable resource next door.
"Instead of getting one or two people are asking for food, I'm going to get 20 (or) 30 people, and I'm not sure I can feed them.”
She says the food bank is a staple in the community and has been for many years.
“A lot of families, really their meal depends on the opening of these doors, and the biggest concern is that a lot of those families are not going to have a meal,” Boneo said.
Fimbres says the plan is to "(bring in) our trucks. We'll close everything up.”
Their short-term solution is to get donations. He says they have had some people reach out to him, including the mayor and city council members. If the City of Douglas does provide funding, it could take months for them to receive the money.
"The community will band together," Diffie said. "I know that for a fact, they will come through, but I don't know if we can continue to do it in the long run.”
The volunteers say they want a chance to share their side of the story.
"If (the Community Food Bank) find(s) out what really happened, things should change,” Fimbres said.
The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is offering two distributions a month in Douglas — the first and second weeks of the month.
"We've been supporting the Douglas community for years with mobile distributions, and that hasn't changed, and won't change,” Firmage said.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
- Download our free app for Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Alexa, and mobile devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
——-
Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
