WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Those food-insecure now have another place to go for help after Colonial Church wrapped up construction on its newly remodeled food pantry.

“Back in April, I got a call from the associate pastor here, and they said ‘We wanna move the pantry over into the main building,’ and, I went ‘Okay,'” Colonial Church Food Pantry Coordinator Lola Pepper said. “He said ‘It would put you all under one roof again,’ and I said ‘I can set it up and leave it set up?’ He said yes.”

For Colonial Church Food Pantry Coordinator Lola Pepper, this brand-new food pantry is a dream come true.

“The new pantry allows the clients to come in and not only choose their dry goods, but now they can choose refrigerated, the frozens, and walk around, just like they’re in the grocery store,” Pepper said.

The pantry serves dozens of residents each month, and with the new setup, complete with carts, a fridge and a freezer, it feels like a totally new shopping experience.

Marchand Construction did the remodel and the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank helps keep the shelves stocked.

“All the community support that we have with all our partners, whenever they are able to come up with new ways to get people the things they want, giving them that little freedom to choose something, it makes a big difference to somebody,” Wichita Falls Area Food Bank Marketing Director Zachary Graham said.

“If it wasn’t for the food bank, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” Pepper said. “We get probably 95 percent of our product from them.”

As the holiday season gets closer, both know just how vital resources like this can be.

“So, these next few months we’re gonna have pretty much all these shelves behind me get wiped out,” Graham said.

“We really receive the greatest blessing by being able to do this and interact with the clients and see them,” Pepper added.

The food pantry is located at Colonial Church at 4300 Maplewood Avenue. The pantry is open the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. and is open to anyone.