Faulty plumbing forced the Queen-Bee Community Pantry to close indefinitely, leaving families without food.
LANGLEY, Wash. — A food pantry that serves thousands of hungry residents across Whidbey Island has been forced to close indefinitely after a faulty water pipe flooded the facility.
Queen-Bee Community Pantry had been open less than two months in its new Langley storefront when co-founder Tanya Hernandez discovered 4 inches of water covering her floors.
“Oh, lord,” Hernandez thought. “What’s next?”
A faulty water connection in the ceiling gave way, filling the community food pantry with water and forcing it to shut down.
“We’re not able to function right now,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez and her partner, Lila Haynes, founded Queen-Bee Community Pantry after seeing their neighbors in need. It started two years ago with a few items given away on Hernandez’s front porch. Soon, donations filled her garage.
By the end of last year, the pantry was serving 7,000 people from Clinton to Oak Harbor. Recognizing the growing need, Hernandez opened a storefront to reach even more residents — a storefront that is now unable to serve anyone.
“We’ve had at least 50 people send us messages asking if they can get food. We’re not able to give out food until this is back open,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said there is a dispute between the building owner and the business above her over who is responsible for the flood. Insurance companies are involved as the charity sits shuttered and families go without food.
“We’re ready to get back to everything. We just need them to put it back together,” Hernandez said.
In the meantime, food salvaged from the pantry is being stored in rented storage units while Hernandez waits to reopen, though she said she has no idea when that will be.
Hernandez is holding fundraisers to help cover cleanup costs and replace lost food, including a June 21 car wash at Bayview Appliance, hoping Queen Bee will soon be buzzing with business, once again.
“Let’s get it together. Let’s get this back open and get food on the table for everybody,” she said.
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