Dozens of people attended the Floyd County Library Board of Trustees meeting Monday to oppose a previous decision to phase out its food pantry. The board voted to suspend the phase out and form a committee to look for a new location. (Aprile Rickert / LPM)Seats were packed at the sometimes tense Floyd County Library Board of Trustees meeting Monday evening, which was held in a larger-than-usual space to accommodate the expected crowd.Most people seemed to be there to let the board know they don’t agree with its decision late last year to phase out its food pantry. Two dozen community members addressed the board in public comment at the start of the meeting, some asking board members to reverse course.They spoke of the importance of the pantry as a community resource, with some sharing their own stories of how it or other pantries have helped them and their families. Some questioned the motives behind closing it, or criticized the appointed board for taking help away from people.The board ultimately voted to suspend the phase-out and put together a committee to look for a new location.Paul Snyder, pastor at Central Christian Church in New Albany, called the initial decision to close the pantry “deeply immoral” during public comment at the start of the meeting.“At a time when food prices continue to rise, when families are struggling to keep up with rent and utility bills, when transportation costs stretch already tight budgets, and when summer is here and many children lose access to food at schools, this board chose to end one of the simplest and most accessible forms of community support available,” he said.He added that while meeting minutes show conversations about the closure going back to mid-2025, he didn't find out about it until this April, and many in the community learned about it last month.“The library could have worked with community leaders to ensure another plan was in place to keep people getting fed,” he said. “Now, many of our community leaders are scrambling to figure out what to do next.”Julie Hutson, a library assistant who’s worked in the pantry for the past four years, said its patrons are her passion. She told the board about some of them: a single mother of two who works and attends IU Southeast trying to make ends meet, a man who bikes to the pantry but whose tire is deflating and he can’t afford to get it repaired, a man in his 60s on a fixed income raising three grandchildren.“It has been a privilege to serve these people and to love these people,” she said.The board voted last December, with some members absent, to phase out the pantry at the library director's discretion. The charge was led by member Steve Burks, who questioned whether a pantry fulfills the library’s mission. He also said there is “an abundance” of other options in the community.Minutes from another meeting show the board also discussed patron complaints and “whether the food pantry and loitering of the unhoused are two separate issues."LPM News asked Burks after the meeting Monday if he proposed the closure because he was concerned that the pantry led to more unhoused people using the library.“No. I think we have an unhoused issue…even without a food pantry,” he said. “I think what happened is…the two issues, while they are separate…still eventually come together.”Burks said he believes people need to eat but the bigger issue of homelessness should be addressed.LPM News also asked him to clarify whether anything about the pantry was harmful or negative to the library.“I personally think that a…library is not a place for a food pantry,” he said.Burks made a motion during the meeting to temporarily suspend the phase-out of the pantry to create a volunteer committee to help find a new viable location for pantry equipment and existing services. That also calls for a commitment from community members and organizations to staff it on a volunteer basis for approximately 30 hours a week.Burks initially called for the suspension to last no longer than six months, but he changed that to take out the time limit after board member Ann Carruthers voiced concerns that it wouldn’t be enough time for people and agencies looking for an alternative solution.“This isn't the decision we wanted,” one man called from the audience before the vote. “We want [the pantry] to be open, not just delay of six more months. You're not listening to your community, sir. Listen to your community.”WebJunction, an online resource for library staff and volunteers, wrote in 2023 that "libraries have a long, rich history of partnering with government and nonprofit agencies to improve food access,” and that the institutions were doing that in new ways including with food pantries and blessing boxes.Burks said after the meeting that he backed off shutting the pantry because “the community has spoken to some degree.” He said he’s not against the idea of a food pantry.“I'm pro-library. And we may disagree on the purpose of a library, and that's fine. That's the beauty of a democracy. You can disagree, and at the end of the day, I think we need to look for solutions,” he said.Board members Ann Carruthers, Roger Whaley and Kate Ziady volunteered to be on the new committee. Around 40 people attending the meeting also signed up to help.Tyra Curran was at the meeting passing out flyers asking people to sign an online petition calling for the city of New Albany to move toward development of a year-round homeless shelter. Curran also addressed the board.According to the petition, community partners estimate they serve between 80 and 100 unhoused people regularly in New Albany, but they say that does not represent all people who are living outdoors or staying with friends or family.“We ask that you sign this petition to ensure that everyone in New Albany has somewhere safe to go in their time of need- somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat, somewhere where someone will help you access resources, and somewhere where someone isn't wishing you weren't there,” the petition reads.It had close to 300 signatures as of Tuesday morning.The food pantry remains open by appointment only and is providing food from Dare to Care and other support. It has stopped giving out food from the USDA, which previously fed around 800 people per month. Day bags, for people without access to refrigeration or cooking, are still currently available.Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County. ...read more read less