$500 worth of meat stolen from church's food pantry

CARTERSVILLE, Ga.,None — Thieves broke into a Bartow County church's food pantry and stole hundreds of dollars worth of meat.

"I just hated that they took all of this because we won't have as much food to give away when people come on Thursday," said Jack Howell, director of the Harvest House of The Church on Liberty Square in Cartersville.

The break-in was discovered Saturday and it appears the criminals pushed an air-conditioning unit out a window to get inside.

They took five turkeys, 40 frozen steaks and 10 2-pound boxes of hamburger patties, as well as three printers, Howell told Channel 2 Action News reporter Manuel Bojorquez.

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"All they had to do was come by on Thursday and get food," Howell said.  That's when the church distributes the food to families who need the extra help.

The church still plans to distribute food on Thursday.

Howell believes it took more than one person to steal the meat, since each turkey weighs about 18 pounds.

He wonders whether the criminals were people who really needed the food and were embarrassed to ask. 

Either way, Bartow County Sheriff's deputies are seeking the public's help in identifying them.

Howell said the meat was worth around $500.

WSBTV