The Perry Food Pantry serves residents of Dallas County, and the manager thinks a spike will occur following Tyson’s announcement of shutting down its pork plant.

The closing of Tyson jeopardizes approximately 1,300 employee jobs, and the City of Perry is doing everything possible to assist people during the transition. Lou Hoger, Manager of the Perry Food Pantry reveals that although business has been steady, he anticipates an influx of people in the future.

“What we anticipate is that our numbers, in one way, will grow and there will be people that are already maybe thinking ‘oh we better stock up on stuff because we’re going to lose our income,’ just like they would if there was a blizzard coming or anything else, but we don’t see too much of that coming.”

Hoger also points out that the downside to Tyson shutting down in relation to the food pantry is that a good amount of customers will most likely leave the area depending on whether or not they can find a nearby job. The Perry Food Pantry is open Tuesdays 10am-12:30pm and on Thursdays from 3-6pm and is available to anyone. Hoger does mention that a valid ID needs to be shown followed by signing a form in order to get food.