FACES Food Pantry, after suffering significant loss matched with significant support from the community, is poised to open Saturday for distribution at its location on 416 N. South St., FACES President Ellery Sedgwick confirmed.

The announcement comes after several community clean up events held for FACES where participants disinfected the building to remove bacteria or mildew left from the flood water.

County line FACES, located on Abilene Road, was open for distribution Saturday, June 2.

He said the Farmville pantry, since it has been closed, delivered food to elderly residents in the area.

Sedgwick said the organization is making sure to follow safety procedures to clean the building, requesting professional assistance to oversee the process.

“We had the county extension agent, Eric Bowen, in to give us information on safety procedures,” Sedgwick said.

“We were very concerned about following standard safety procedures,” Sedgwick said. “We did have a professional person talk to us, and we followed those orders. We got the work done.”

Sedgwick said the cleaning process included deep sanitation of the freezers and building.

“Unfortunately we had to discard a tremendous amount of food,” Sedgwick said.

He estimated in an earlier report that the pantry lost approximately 40 percent of its food from the flood.

While the loss of the food struck the pantry, Sedgwick said leaders did receive good news about the portable freezers.

“Most of them are functioning,” Sedgwick said. “The freezers were rescuable, and they are functioning fine.”

He said the freezers, before being returned to the pantry location, were bleached, swabbed and scrubbed with soap and water.

FACES is one of the largest food pantries in Central Virginia, Sedgwick said in an earlier report.

Sedgwick noted the Farmville community’s support of FACES through monetary donations and volunteers. Organizations such as the Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Credit Union, the Virginia Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief Program and numerous others have offered donations and time. The Fishin’ Pig even catered lunch during one clean up effort.

“We appreciate everything the community did for us,” Sedgwick said.

Sedgwick encouraged community members and organizations to donate financially.

“The community has been very generous,” Sedgwick said. “We’re still in a recovery period. The best way to help at this point is if they want to make a contribution through the website or directly to FACES.”

Another way people can help is to volunteer. Sedgwick noted that during the summer, distribution volunteers drop significantly on Saturdays after university students leave for the summer.

No phone calls needed, Sedgwick said, as volunteers can show up to the pantry at 7:30 a.m. He said distribution takes place from 7:30-10:30 a.m.

Sedgwick is optimistic about the pantry’s future.

“We’re a strong organization, and we’re going to be back full strength,” Sedgwick said.