Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995                   TAG: 9504030008
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GROUPS SEEK RENT-FREE BUILDING

The groups are looking for a rent-free building to share. They are eyeing is the former Roanoke County School Administration Building, which the city acquired last month.

However, the proposal is still in the formative stages, said Barbara Bell, co-director of the Salem Food Pantry.

The three groups met in a closed meeting last week and had planned to pitch their proposal for donated city property to council at Monday's meeting. They later decided to postpone.

"We want to talk to city officials and get more information," Bell said.

Time, however, is of the essence for Salem's Clothes Closet.

The group is trying to beat a June1 deadline to vacate its First United Methodist Church location to make room for the church's expanding Scout programs.

Until a new location is found, plans to reopen the organization cannot move forward. The group stopped accepting donations last week, and it is scheduled to close May 31.

The Food Pantry is in less of a rush to move. It already has a good situation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Bell said.

Although its quarters are cramped, the facilites are provided free of charge.

But there are advantages to considering a combined locale.

"It makes sense to have it all under one roof," Bell said. It's an experiment that's been tested in Southeast Roanoke. The Presbyterian Community Center houses a Meals on Wheels program, a clothing closet, a literacy program, pediatric and adult clinics and an emergency food program.

"It's a service to the clients" to house all of the organizations in one spot, said Pat Dillard, executive director of the Presbyterian center.

Salem's version would throw another organization into the mix - The Community Christmas Store, which is only open two days a year, but has a space problem.

The store and its board meetings have bounced from place to place - using vacated buildings for the store and the Salem Senior Citizens Center or the Salem Civic Center for meetings.

However, the location they're considering won't necessarily solve all of the store's problems.

But "even if we can't use it for the store, it would be nice to use it for storage and for our meetings," Thomas said.