MARICOPA, AZ — Stepping up to feed families in desperate need.
Last month, the food pantry serving the town of Maricopa was destroyed by a devastating fire, leaving residents there going without.
But help is on the way.
Crews worked quickly Wednesday morning at the St. Mary's Food Bank warehouse in Phoenix, loading thousands of pounds of food.
Pallet after pallet headed to serve the residents of Maricopa after all three trailers there, stocked with food, were lost in a matter of hours.
"All three of their trailers burned, and they've been down ever since," said Jerry Brown, Director of Public Relations for St. Mary's Food Bank.
In the meantime, food was delivered to some residents door-to-door, but St. Mary's is helping to restock.
Three new trailers with 50,000 lbs of food on its way.
The trailers containing both frozen and non perishable items to get the Maricopa pantry back up and running in time for normal distributions this weekend.
"They'll be ready to go for their first distribution since the fire happened on Saturday," Brown said.
The Maricopa food pantry was a life line for many, serving 1,500 families a week.
And with the area labeled a "food desert," the need for services is ongoing.
"This is a big deal for the people out there, and we wanted to do this as soon as possible," Brown said.
St. Mary's says the trailers will remain in place in Maricopa for as long as the community needs them.
