CHINOOK — The Chinook Indian tribe says it’s closing its food bank in the small southwest Washington town of Chinook after 25 years because it can’t afford the monthly building rental.
Tribal office manager Jennifer Lagergren told The Daily News on Monday that the food bank serves about 70 to 80 families a month. The majority are not tribal members. She says the doors will close Dec. 31.
She says there’s no longer any money to pay the $100 monthly rent, which has cost the tribe only $50 a month because an area church has been contributing the other $50.
Building rent has been paid out of donated money for the last three years. Lagergren says the food bank used to operate rent-free when tribal offices were located in the building, but it’s had to pay rent since tribal offices moved out.
The Chinook tribe has an estimated 2,900 members.
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