‘We’re not quitters’: Warren church continuing food distribution after food pantry lost to suspected arson

WARREN — The pastor of a church that lost its food pantry to what officials are calling an arson says his church isn’t going to give up on its food distribution program.

At approximately 12:45 a.m. Aug. 14, Warren firefighters responded to a report of a fire at Harvest Time Christian Fellowship, located at 8204 E. Nine Mile Road. When they arrived, they found a shipping container containing food was on fire.

According to Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer, somebody had put some sort of explosive device near the container.

“It’s very disturbing; the church was obviously helping those in need by providing food so they could live,” he said.

Curtiss Ostosh, the church’s pastor, said they lost upward of $20,000 worth of food in the fire.

“It’s devastating,” he said.

Each month, the church gives out over 75,000 pounds of food, he said. The church serves anyone, regardless of the community they live in, including children.

“There’s kids that come to our church. Most pantries wouldn’t serve kids, right?” he said. “It’s like, yikes, how do you tell a kid they can’t have some food?”

But despite the loss, Ostosh said his church isn’t going to give up on distributing food for the needy. A distribution was scheduled for several days after the fire, and they managed to get several pallets of food for it.

“We’ve gotten dozens of calls just today saying, ‘I hope this doesn’t kill our food pantry because we’d be really hard-pressed if you guys stopped doing what you do,’” he said. “We’re not going to stop. We’re not quitting. We’re not quitters.”

Dwyer said he was confident the department would find the suspect, but at press time, no arrests had been made.

 

Distribution event held several days after fire
On Aug. 17, people in need of food lined up outside of the church while others meandered through rooms and past tables covered with food, looking for anything they might need.

Gina Giambrone, of Mount Clemens, was attending the distribution for the first time. She was looking for fresh produce and anything healthy.

Giambrone, who had just undergone surgery, was appreciative of the food pantry.

“It doesn’t seem to take away your dignity. You can tell that it’s out of kindness,” she said.

Patricia Orlando, of Detroit, had been coming to the church for food for a while. But when she heard the news of the fire, she wasn’t worried.

“I think good is going to come out of it, and it’s going to be better than ever,” she said. “God’s bigger than that, and he’s going to make it turn around where the devil is going to wish he never did it. … They’re doing good here.”

Jim Latour, of Macomb Township, has been volunteering at the church for over three years.

“The people are fantastic,” he said. “Some of them are just a little rough, a little down on their luck.”

Latour, who helps to guide people through the distribution, said that while the church could use more help, he isn’t worried that the church will have to stop its distribution programs because of their determination.

“They’re always tight on money, they’re always tight on help, they’re always tight on labor, they don’t have enough room, they don’t have this, they don’t have that. But they have determination,” he said. “It’s not a big church, but they definitely have a can-do spirit.”

Casey Jones, of Warren, has been volunteering at the church for eight years.

“I feel that I’m doing a service. There’s a lot of lonely people that come in here that need somebody to listen to them and try to introduce them to Jesus,” she said.

At the event, 148 families were served, Ostosh said. While the number of families was lower than usual, he said it was encouraging.

“Some people probably heard the news and maybe thought we weren’t going to be open and that we were just going to fold,” he said. “But if we can bless 148 families, that’s encouraging.”