A pipe failure has forced the Queen Bee Community Food Pantry to close indefinitely, leaving many families without food.
LANGLEY, Wash. — A food pantry serving thousands of hungry residents on Whidbey Island has been forced to close indefinitely after a water main failure flooded the facility.
Queen Bee Community Food Pantry The new Langley store had been open less than two months when co-founder Tanya Hernandez discovered 4 inches of standing water on the floor.
“Oh, Lord,” Hernandez thought. “What’s next?”
A problem with a water pipe connection in the ceiling caused the community food pantry to fill with water and be forced to close.
“We can’t function right now,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez and her partner, Lila Haynes, founded the Queen-Bee Community Pantry after seeing neighbors in need. It started two years ago with a few items being given away on Hernandez’s front porch. Soon, donations filled her garage.
By the end of last year, the food pantry had served 7,000 people from Clinton to Oak Harbor. Recognizing the growing need, Hernandez opened a store to reach more residents — a store that can’t serve anyone right now.
“At least 50 people have messaged us asking if they can get food. We won’t be able to distribute food until the restaurants reopen,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said there was a dispute between the property owner and the parent company over who was responsible for the flooding. As charities close and families go without food, insurance companies step in.
“We’re ready to get everything back together. We just need them to put it back together,” Hernandez said.
In the meantime, food recovered from the pantry is being stored in a rented storage unit while Hernandez waits for it to reopen, although she said she doesn’t know when that will happen.
Hernandez is hosting fundraisers to help cover cleanup costs and replace lost food, including a car wash at Bayview Appliance on June 21, hoping the Queen Bee will be doing business again soon.
“Let’s work together. Let’s reopen and feed everyone,” she said.
