SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Cell phone video shows firefighters battling thick smoke and flames after a fire started in the pantry at the Apostolic Church of Jesus Fellowship Ministries Monday night in Altamonte Springs.
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Channel 9′s Seminole County reporter, Jeff Levkulich was at the church Tuesday.
It may appear small, but the food pantry is important, not only to the people in this neighborhood, but to residents across Seminole County.
Last year volunteers handed out more than 1.5 million meals.
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Deacon James Rolle got his first look inside the burned-out food pantry Tuesday morning at the church.
The church next door was spared by the flames but out of the ashes from fire Deacon Rolle was able to salvage an award from Second Harvest Food Bank that they just received calling their pantry the largest and most efficient in Seminole County.
“We are trying to stay modest. We are only doing according to what the Lord allow us to do,” said Deacon Rolle.
And what the lord has allowed them to do for 30 years is serve millions of meals to residents all over Seminole County regardless of whether they belong to their church or not.
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The fire may have destroyed the pantry but didn’t keep volunteers from showing up Tuesday morning to unload boxes of food to still help the needy.
“It’s just a building. But the hard-working people are right here, this was not going to stop us,” said a volunteer giving out food.
Herbert Bouy has been running the pantry for years.
“I’ll go on taking care of people in the community. We enjoy it. So that’s why we’re here today,” said Bouy.
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Car after car lined up around the block between two and three hundred people received food today.
“We need to continue to serve. We’ve been doing this for a very long time, and nothing is going to stop us,” said another pantry volunteer.
There is a GoFundMe underway to raise money for the church. You can click here to donate.
It’s believed an air conditioning unit may have started the fire.
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