WARDEN - Roughly 400 pounds of food was stolen from Warden's Community Food Pantry in an alleged burglary.

The pantry is organized by four Warden churches, and provides food to people in need.

"For the last three years, Wilbur-Ellis has been doing a food drive during homecoming week," Mayor Roldan Capetillo said. "The volunteers who take care of the food bank, one day it's gone."

City Administrator Mike Thompson said canned goods made up most of the food stolen from the pantry.

The pantry is trying to rebuild its stores so it can start putting together food baskets for Christmas, Capetillo said.

"We rely on that food and now all of it is not there," he said. "I know the school is doing another food drive and the local churches are going to get together and try to do another food drive. So we can have food ready for Christmas."

The theft of the food disappointed Capetillo, who said people didn't need to steal it.

"We don't even sell the food, it's free," he said. "All you have to do is come in and ask for food. We don't ask for your papers or any legal thing."

Capetillo brought up the alleged burglary during a recent council meeting, asking Chief Rick Martin about it. Martin said no one reported a crime to the police.

"I look at every single report that's made and I haven't seen a food bank one yet," he said.

Clerk Kris Shuler said it could be the volunteer called city hall and talked to Shuler and Thompson and no one told her to contact the police.

"I don't know if it even makes sense to make a police report now because it's already happened. The guy's already been in there trying to fix it," Capetillo said.

Martin suggested filing the report since sometimes one crime can be connected to another. He pointed to an example where tabs stolen in Warden ended up on a stolen car in Moses Lake.

Capetillo wanted to know who stole the food, saying he contacted the Alcoholics Anonymous group using the building, but since it's an anonymous group he couldn't find out any information.

"It may not be them because today the guys went over to work on the bars and that side door wasn't even locked," Thompson said. "We're having the locks changed because there are about nine keys out."

When the mayor asked how so many keys could be in circulation, Thompson answered they were lost.

"We issued four to the churches to start with and when a pastor would leave we would never get the key back, or somebody else took it," he said. "They'd come and ask for another key. So we're just going to have the lock changed."

For more information about the pantry contact Capetillo at 509-349-2326.