A major link in the food chain that provides sustenance to needy people in Colorado Springs has abruptly shut down with no explanation, as the demand for charitable food is growing.

Manna, and the ministry’s operator, the Church of the Lord of Glory at 500 W. Bijou St., apparently closed the last week of August with no warning, according to others in the local network of agencies that assists low-income residents including homeless people.

“It was something sudden,” said a volunteer at the Westside Community Center pantry, a program of Westside Cares. She asked not to be named because she said too much is still unknown, including how other organizations will fill the gap left behind.

The program she volunteers for received word on Aug. 26, that the Manna program was ceasing. But the messengers said they weren’t comfortable talking about what was going on and were not at liberty to discuss it. 

“I don’t know why,” the volunteer said. “I don’t want to say anything bad about the church because they were wonderful people to work with.”

The ministry had been operating for years, providing primarily bread and pastries but also milk, meat and produce.

“They’d go to different stores and glean some donations of whatever was available,” the volunteer said. “We’d come at our appointed time and day and tell them what we needed.”

The Church of the Lord of Glory bought in 2012 the historic building that was constructed in 1900 at West Bijou and Walnut streets, according to county records.

A handwritten sign on the church’s front door that’s wrinkled with rain says, “Church is closed.”

The church’s main sign with its name that stood out front is gone, the pastor’s cell phone is not accepting messages, there’s no answer at the door of the pastor’s home, and the website is not active.

More than a week after shuttering, the parking lot still drew transients looking for free meals, as well as drivers arriving to pick up supplies to hand out in other circles, such as subsidized housing.

One man who hung around for a while before moving on said people had told him to come to the church for food, and he was surprised to find it empty.

A volunteer from an apartment complex said it was the second time he had come hoping to obtain some food to share with others and hadn’t realized the church was not open.

Many homeless people would congregate at the large, white church on Wednesdays and Sundays to receive free offerings.

“We’ll miss them — not just their service but the people,” the Westside Community Center pantry volunteer said. “When you do things like this in the community, you develop relationships.”

Some people said they’d heard one of the reasons was that the Manna ministry was getting less food from grocery and big-box stores, making it harder to sustain operations.

The church was not a partner agency of Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, said President and CEO Nate Springer, so did not receive goods from that organization, the region’s largest charitable food supplier.

Five other pantries in the area that were affiliated with Care and Share have closed this year, Springer said, bringing its partner network of pantries and other food distribution programs to 289.

Care and Share estimates it will receive 2 million to 3 million pounds less of food less than its usual 25 million pounds in the fiscal year that began July 1, Springer said. 

“It’s a reduction, but it’s not catastrophic,” he said. “There’s going to be more need though, and our partner agencies already are seeing more people than they ever have.”

Pantries are going to band together soon to discuss the loss of Manna and try to “figure it out,” the volunteer said, as they are seeing more people seeking food subsidies. “We’re all in this together.” 

The pantry where she works has been hopping, feeding between 800 and 1,000 people a month, she said. On Aug. 27, 300 people sought food.

The Church of the Lord of Glory is among 50 churches of varying denominations listed on Mercy’s Gate website as one of its supporting churches.

The nonprofit organization near Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard provides free food as a secondary service and primarily offers assistance with vouchers to pay for rent, utilities, transportation, gas, medical care and household items.

For all programs, “the need is great,” said Executive Director Jon Serio, who came on board in June after staff turnover, including at the administrative level.

The organization’s food pantry served more than 16,000 pantry users last year, who can come up to six times a year for grocery supplies.

Because he’s new, Serio said he’s not familiar with the Church of the Lord of Glory and was unaware that it had closed. Churches that support the organization provide valuable volunteer power and assistance with projects such as holiday food baskets, he said.

With inflation pushing food prices higher and benefits for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program tightening, people “are needing more than just supplemental food from a pantry,” said Renee Beebe, executive director of Crossfire Ministries at 3975 N. Academy Blvd.

“The numbers of people are about the same but households are needing to get more food from pantries,” she said. 

The organization is serving 450 to 500 households a day at its pantry that’s set up in a no-cost grocery store model where people can shop for what they need. High-demand items include dry pasta, pasta sauce and cereal, Beebe said.

“Crossfire is seeing a decrease in the amount of food at a time when the needs in our community are increasing,” she said. “We are accepting food donations and financial contributions for us to purchase items in bulk at a better price.”

Care and Share will participate in Hunger Action Day by Feeding America on Sept. 9, Springer said, asking the community for donations that will be matched up to $50,000 by the Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation in Elbert County.