Willow Roots, a Pine Plains nonprofit and one of the town’s two food pantries, has leased a new, larger space at 2815 West Church St.
Nelson and Lisa Zayas, who co-founded the nonprofit, were told to vacate their former 500-square-foot office on South Main Street by July 10. The move required the organization to find a new location before continuing its food and clothing distributions.
“We were ready to close up shop for good,” Lisa Zayas said. “But our board and volunteers helped get our spirits up, and we started looking for another place.”
The couple searched for an affordable location until board member Gary Darling saw a “for rent” sign in front of a two-story tan clapboard house near Stissing Mountain High School. The available first-floor space included a porch and off-street parking.
“I told Nelson right away, and he called the realtor immediately to take a look,” Darling said.
After touring the property, Nelson Zayas said the space met the organization’s needs.
“The main room is 1,600 square feet, with a small 230-square-foot storage room in back,” he said. “And we get to use the porch.”
The first floor, which was last used for antique storage, had been vacant for more than two years, he said. According to Dutchess County property records, the half-acre parcel is owned by Zerep Capital I LLC.
The Zayases signed a three-year lease through Houlihan Lawrence real estate agent Dave Hall. Willow Roots previously operated out of the Ginocchio Electric building under a verbal agreement with owner Kyle Lougheed Sr. The pantry had served Pine Plains Central School District residents from that location since March 2021, after operating for two years from the Zayases’ front porch.
“Now we have a lot more room so our rent went up; we pay for electricity, too,” Nelson Zayas said. “But Dave really worked with us to negotiate a fair price.”
More than a dozen volunteers have helped relocate the pantry by moving groceries, sorting donated clothing, and installing insulation in the storage room, which will hold dry goods and off-season clothing.
“At our last food distribution [June 6], we gave away enough food to our families to last them a month,” Lisa Zayas said. “So we didn’t have as much food to move. We served nearly 170 people that day.”
The Zayases estimate the new space may require up to $8,000 in renovations, including a bathroom and utility sink, an electrical system upgrade, and a mini-split unit for heating and air conditioning.
Lisa Zayas said a cement pad will be poured behind the building for the pantry’s unassembled 10-by-12-foot walk-in freezer.
“We are bringing all our refrigeration units for the space, including the six freezers sitting in my garage,” she said. “We’ll have the clothes up front, and produce on the porch: No more working in the rain and snow.”
The space will include three or four central aisles stocked with food options for participants to choose from and place into the pantry’s newly-purchased wagons as they shop.
“I want it to feel like a grocery store for everyone,” Nelson Zayas said. “I want to honor the dignity of the families that come here.”
The pantry’s new location, a short walk from Stissing Mountain High School, will allow Willow Roots to continue offering community service hours to students. The Zayases are planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, July 11. Regular food and clothing distributions, held on the first and third Saturdays of each month, are expected to resume July 18.
Editor’s note: Nelson Zayas provides bookkeeping and tax services for Pine Plains Journalism Project Inc., the nonprofit organization that owns the Herald. The author of this article volunteers at Willow Roots.