NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Thursday, people in the Oak Grove section of North Little Rock celebrated a new beginning that involves serving more of their neighbors in need.
In August 2022, an electrical fire destroyed The Grove thrift store and food pantry. However, the center opened its new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on that same land.
"Disasters are never something you want," Graves Memorial Baptist Church Pastor Travis Matthews said. "It's kind of in the storms of life that you figure out who you really are. I think we really experienced God's faithfulness, but also the power of people coming together."
That's what led them to officially open the new food pantry and thrift store in a much bigger space, just a few feet away from where the old building sat a year and a half ago.
"The expansion of the pantry is pretty significant in terms of the options people will have," Matthews said.
Matthews said that with a bigger thrift store, they could buy more food with all the money made from sales.
A couple of families said they rely on the food pantry and are thrilled to be a part of the grand opening celebration.
"Once a month, I go and get food, which helps out a lot because I've got a lot of kids," Virginia Mills said.
Stephanie Hubbard was amazed at how big the new center is.
"It's beautiful," Hubbard said. "It's so much more than I imagined. It's 10 times bigger and better than the other building was. It's a real blessing for everyone."
Along with more space for food and donations for the thrift store, The Grove is kickstarting some new programming, such as offering GED certifications, job training and ESL classes.
"It gives them confidence, and they believe that they can do something maybe they didn't believe they could," Matthews said. "We want to inspire people to love people and just meet people where they're at."
Matthews looks forward to living out that mission in this next chapter.
"We want our community to feel we're giving them our best," Matthews said.
The food pantry is open Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Click here for more information on how to donate to The Grove.