Epps Christian Center reeling after broken freezer ruins food stores
The Rev. Sylvia Tisdale, or, as I call her, "The Patron Saint of Pace Boulevard," met me Wednesday morning to show me the mess outside Epps Christian Center where she and her staff have served hot meals to the poor and hungry for nearly two decades.
The Epps Christian Center's large industrial freezer went down on Saturday and on Wednesday there were still cardboard boxes with now-rotting fish sitting outside the freezer, drawing hundreds of flies that buzzed around Tisdale and the boxes. Tisdale was able to save some of the frozen food and distributed it to other nonprofit organizations in the area, but so much was lost.
"It's a mess, isn't it?" Tisdale said as she walked toward the front of the freezer, opening the large door to let it air out. "Now, it's left to me to clean up."
Tisdale said the new compressor the freezer will need to run will cost $5,716.
Does Epps Christian Center have that kind of money?
"No," Tisdale said. "Who does?"
She's right. That's a lot of money, especially for a small church ministry operating in the challenging Englewood neighborhood. But so many depend on Tisdale and her Epps Christian Center ministry. Not only does she wake up around 4 a.m. to cook and serve hot meals to the poor and hungry, but she also provides a food pantry and twice-weekly food giveaways to families as well as services such as job certifications, applying for benefits and an ID program for those who need to obtain birth certificates needed for a driver's license.
Epps Christian Center supporter Dianne Krumel has volunteered with the ministry through the years and posted a message on Facebook asking for community support of Tisdale and her ministry during the freezer outage.
"It's horrible what happened," Krumel said of the freezer breakdown. "Pastor Tisdale operates on a shoestring budget and the generosity of the community. She has given so much to the community ‒ a community that has come to depend on her and her kindness and compassion. I've always called her our 'Earth Angel.' I've never seen an individual care and give so much and who is so dedicated to those in need. She gets up every day at 3:30 or 4 with a smile on her face. She's amazing and she's done amazing things for our community."
Previously: Warming hearts with a walk-in freezer: Community rallies to support local food pantry
Tisdale said they do have food in a large industrial cooler, but the freezer is needed for Epps to fulfill and continue its ministry, including large-scale food giveaways.
"Too many people really depend on us and they'd really suffer without the help we provide," Tisdale said. "I'm telling you, yesterday we had people lined up (food giveaways are Tuesdays and Thursdays). They were lined up under the trees. We just have to keep going."
Epps Christian Center is located at 2202 N. Pace Blvd. For more information, go to Epps Christian Center's Facebook page or to www.eppschristiancenter.org. Phone: 850-572-5761.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Epps Christian Center pastor Sylvia Tisdale fixing freezer
