WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) — A food bank will close its doors affecting more than 3,000 people just before Christmas. With half a million people facing hunger in Colorado – one in nine are children – this is a big loss to those in need.

Annette Vigil of the Have A Heart Center located at 3455 W. 72nd Ave. told FOX31 the facility will close on Dec. 18 due to restructuring issues. The center will continue to accept donations of nonperishable food items before then in an effort to help as many families as possible. Items can be dropped off or picked up on Dec. 11 and 18 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Vigil told the Problem Solvers that as a single mother who once depended on help from food banks, she understands the need in the community, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would come walking in on the Saturdays they were open to get food to be able to feed my kids, I was working two jobs,” she said.

Vigil has been working for more than 25 years to help others, including Jamie Castor, a cancer survivor who lost her father, Marine Corps veteran James F. Fitzpatrick, to COVID-19 in 2020.

Castor now helps others as a way to pay it forward.

“He installed in me you give out what you give in and I have grown to show that to others,” Castor said.

Vigil said her heart is warmed by the thought of the many children who have come to the center to receive a warm coat, clothing and food.

She said it helped them to “be able to study and not worry that they were cold and couldn’t do their work.”

Vigil pledges to work to reopen the center as soon as possible.

For more information about how to help the Have A Heart Center visit their website.