PROSPER — Prosper’s largest food pantry caught fire over the weekend, destroying nearly everything inside. 

Volunteers were able to step inside the Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors food pantry for the first time again Tuesday. N3 has been devoted to giving food and other items to needy families in the Collin County area every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. However, its building was destroyed by a fire that started at the business next door Saturday night.

“There was tears. There was the emotion was so high,” said N3 Executive Director Robert Daleo. 

He said the nonprofit has been at this location for about three years. What was once shelves full of food and items were turned into piles of waterlogged debris, with only a few items salvaged.

Daleo says the nonprofit doesn’t just serve food but offers clothes and toiletries. It helps about 300 families every week, which makes the fire even more devastating for the area.

“Every week, they, you know, they walk out of here with between 50 and 70 pounds of food, depending on how big their family is. We’re their primary source of food,” Daleo said.

N3 now needs storage space, food, and financial donations; however, this disaster is not keeping volunteers from distributing food this Friday at another location, thanks to help from a local church and city collaborators.  

“What matters is that we answer that call to feed the hungry neighbors.,” Daleo admits, “We will get back up and running.”