Tracy Press

After delays, Tracy Interfaith Ministries plans to open in its new building right after Labor Day.

Interfaith Ministries’ Gerg Bidlack assembles racks for the freezer and refrigerator at the new building. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

Tardy electricians held up progress for a while, said volunteers who refused to talk much about the delays to avoid offending anyone.

But the extra days before opening have allowed workers time to move two truckloads of donated furniture into the still-empty building.

A few volunteers today helped move in dozens of office chairs, towering file cabinets, lockers and wire food racks into the about-to-open $1.5 million, 10,000-square-foot building near El Pescadero Park.

Interfaith Ministries’ Renee Reece looks over donated shelving that will go in the clothing room at the new site. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

In a matter of weeks, 2½ years of mostly donated construction will end, and volunteers will move from the cramped 3,500-square-foot warehouse on North Holly Drive into the comparatively palatial space off Grant Line Road.

A Silicon Valley software firm that downsized two years ago offered Interfaith board members their pick of what the company considered throwaways. Then Interfaith director Darlene Quinn’s son held the donated furniture in storage for two years, waiting for the new building to open.

Now that the 20-year-old nonprofit has raised enough money to finish the new building, the organization has formed an auxiliary to continue raising money for food and clothing.

Martin Juarez of Legacy Transportation Services readies chairs to go in the new Interfaith Ministries waiting room. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

The organization has this year served on average more than 4,000 clients a month — about 1,800 of them children. That amounts to about 57,000 meals in a four-week time period.

“The need is always growing,” Quinn said. “We’re glad we have a place now to accommodate that.”

For information: 836-5424 or www.tracyinterfaith.org.

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