By Lauren Olsen
Open Doors Pantry, 110 W. Jersey St., Westfield, was flash flooded on April 3. The floodwaters main source was a nearby creek. Alice Trentman, who helps run the pantry with her husband, Joe, said this is not the first time they have experienced a flood. The Trentman’s and two other volunteers were putting up sandbags and preparing to leave the building when the flood hit.
“I looked out the window of the pantry and saw a wall of water coming at me, by the time I screamed and Joe looked up, it was rolling toward us,” Trentman said.
The amount of water that came into the building forced Trentman to call the Westfield Fire Dept. to rescue them from the flooding.
“You could feel the current pulling on your leg, we couldn’t have gotten out by ourselves,” she said.
Overall, Open Doors Pantry saw three feet of floodwaters, which resulted in damage to eight out of 12 freezers, furniture, some canned goods, clothing and files.
The good news is the City of Westfield was there to help Open Doors Pantry pick up the pieces. The morning after the flood, the fire department, Boy Scouts and the Westfield Rotary Club, among other volunteers, pitched in to clean out the damaged items. Another large group came by on April 5 for additional help.
“We are blessed to have the places that help us,” Trentman said.
Trentman said most of the cleanup was completed at this point and now their priority is to re-build. They have salvaged and cleaned what they could and are building new shelving to hold donations.
“We are trying to open the Thursday before Easter (April 17),” Trentman said
Open Door’s has a post office drive on May 10 and they are hoping that will help to re-stock the shelves. In addition, Northview Church is helping to replace can goods that were lost.
Monetary donations are accepted at Open Doors, P.O. Box 196, Westfield, 46074.
