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The Way, an Eastern Henrico organization that for five years has helped provide food for those in need in the region, is shutting the doors of its food distribution site and thrift store permanently.
Founder Brian Purcell made the announcement on Facebook Monday.
For five years, the organization has provided food to as many people as it can, with the caveat that in exchange, they provide volunteer hours with the organization to give back and help others.
Purcell had a battle with COVID-19 in April, forcing the organization to suspend operations for a period of time. It later had to close again for a time when the virus struck someone else affiliated with the group. And because the group had been soliciting donations without having applied to the Virginia Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services for the right to do so, it learned in May that it wouldn’t be able to ask for donations for as long as 175 days, while the application was considered.
Purcell had hinted in May that he was unsure what the future might hold for the group, in light of the challenges.
In his Facebook post Monday, he said that the food distribution and thrift store would close July 15 and all remaining food would be given away this week.
“The outreach will be shifting away from the food distribution part and thrift store to focusing more on helping those who are coming home from prison, and those who are battling addiction,” Purcell wrote.
All other supplies that would not be needed as part of that new effort, he said, would be donated to another nonprofit that would be operating a food distribution and thrift store itself.
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