The only food pantry in northern Hunterdon County has been forced to figure out how it will continue helping people in need after it was destroyed by a fire earlier this week that started at a neighboring Walgreen's.

Despite being in one of the wealthiest counties in the state, the pantry serves more than 8000 clients a year.

And as Ted Goldberg reports, the community is now united in an effort to ensure that no family goes hungry.

Everybody has reached out.

It's it's more than I could have ever imagined.

It has made this week so much better than it could have been.

Despite a devastating fire, the open cupboard food pantry is still feeding people who need meals.

Their Clinton location burned down Sunday night, so executive director Jennifer Tavormina says workers and volunteers worked hard to help more than a thousand clients in the aftermath.

After the initial impact of just disbelief.

When I found out, this is completely speechless.

You know, we know.

We know that we can do this.

We have the staff, we have the volunteers.

We've already created the model that we know works, which is why we were able to open a second pantry in southern part of Warren County.

And it's an identical replica of what we've done.

Tavormina says clients will now get meals from that Warren County location or from the Flemington food pantry.

Open cupboard fed more than 7000 people last year, but they face an uncertain future after that fire destroyed their thrift store, a huge source of revenue.

That shop was able to sustain two separate pantries and in its entirety.

So without that revenue, that will be our challenge.

That's what we've always done in the past.

That's the model that this agency is built it on.

Doesn't mean we have to, but that's what was generating such great success for us.

We just have to figure out another way.

Community groups in Hunterdon County are trying to help them figure things out in the short term.

We knew that they it was going to be a community wide effort to do what we can for them and to address their immediate needs.

Women for Highbridge President Colleen Hann says if anyone has started or is in the middle of a food drive, they can drop things off.

At Highbridge Reformed Church, like customers did at Old Borough Hall Pottery.

We have a donation drive going on through the Highbridge Elementary School and middle school.

The borough of Highbridge.

We sent them information on the immediate needs.

They put a PSA out through the entire borough.

We saw food drives were popping up, but we were aware there's no place for the food to go.

So we've reached out to them and just said, if when your food drive is over, you don't have a place to put the food, we're welcome to hold it for you.

Tavormina says people can also drop off Shoprite gift cards at Reiner Insurance in Clinton or Donate on Open Cupboards website.

She says they're not using Go Fund me for this.

And she's thrilled with how many people are pitching in.

There's so many people who want to help, and I felt that the best way to do this is pinpoint release.

A couple of press releases, put it out on our social media, get it on our website.

Those three avenues are what will streamline the process and get the most effective help to our clients in the quickest way.

Highbridge It's kind of just what we do.

Like we just kind of step up.

There's a need.

How do we get this steady?

Open covered food pantry originated here in Highbridge.

So that's what makes it especially important to us that we serve them.

As for the future of Open Cupboard, we.

Will be back in Clifton, whether it's that location or another one.

We intend to reopen in the Clinton location.

Tavormina calls this a prime location.

An open cupboard had been there for 15 years, a staple of northern hundred and county fighting, fire and adversity to feed the local community.

In Clinton, I'm Ted Goldberg.

NJ Spotlight News.