PHILLIPS – The Phillips Food Pantry closed July 1 after its volunteer manager resigned effective Tuesday.

The pantry, which provided emergency food supplies for up to 45 households each month in Phillips, Avon and Madrid, is sponsored by the Phillips Shared Ministry, said church member Pat Matulaitis. The pantry has been open for about 14 years, she added.

Madeline Haines, who recruited volunteer helpers for the pantry, had managed it for two years before resigning for personal reasons, according to Matulaitis.

The church has fewer than 20 active members who will meet soon to decide what happens next and how much the small congregation can take on.

While the pantry is located in the basement of the Phillips Methodist Church, the Phillips Shared Ministry holds their services in the Congregational church. Part of the ministry’s decision will include whether members can continue to heat and light the food pantry, she added.

Avon and Phillips have supported the pantry or the church couldn’t have kept it going, she said.

The pantry is open two Tuesdays each month from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and provides a three-to-five-day food supply. It would be open next on July 8 before the closure.

Matulaitis planned to try finding another food pantry that people could visit in an emergency while the Phillips pantry is closed.

The closest food pantry is in Salem, sponsored by the United Methodist Economic Ministry, she said.

The possibility of linking up with another pantry will probably be considered by the congregation. Anyone interested could write to the Phillips Shared Ministry at P.O. Box 273, Phillips, 04966, she said.