A local nonprofit that donates food that would otherwise go to the landfill is facing a setback after its van, which was used to transport food, was stolen.

According to Sustainable Renton vice president Hannah Flory, the van, which was gifted to the organization through funds from the Renton Rotary last summer, was stolen early in the morning on March 8. Flory said one of Sustainable Renton’s main initiatives is to redistribute food from businesses that would have otherwise been thrown away. Now that effort will be impeded because they can’t pick up as much food, she said.

The van is a white 2000 Ford Econoline, license plate number D96132E, and was stolen from the Renton Highlands Neighborhood near O’Reilly’s on Sunset Ave.

Flory said that on March 8, she got texts from multiple people asking if she was using the van. Flory said they kept the van at a board member’s home because it was safer than the St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church parking lot. Flory said they’re grateful for St. Matthew’s, but one time a box truck the organization had parked there got stolen and was returned in an unusable condition.

Shortly after it was discovered that she had not borrowed the van, Flory said the board member who kept it at his home checked the camera and saw that it had been stolen early in the morning. Flory said they made a police report, but the only tip they’ve gotten is from a volunteer who said they saw it parked across the street from their home early Saturday morning with the Sustainable Renton logo half scratched off.

Flory said she’s having difficulty accepting the reality that they might not get the van back, but this setback won’t stop them. Flory said they used volunteers’ vehicles before they got the van, which wasn’t ideal, but it will have to be done again.

“So, I think capacity is the biggest thing for us. Also, we’re going to have to go back to using volunteer vehicles, you know, and that’s exactly what it is, it’s volunteers,” Flory said. “If no one offers their vehicles to drive and get this food and offers their time, then we won’t be able to go pick it up. That means that food is wasted and goes to the landfill rather than to hungry people.”

Flory said they’ve thought about renting a U-Haul, but as a nonprofit, the funding logistics for that could be tricky.

Flory said that when they got the an, they upgraded its security, adding a steering wheel lock and GPS. She said the GPS pinged at first, but it has since gone silent.

Flory said she doesn’t think this theft was a targeted attack, but rather a reflection of people’s current situations. Many people are already watching their wallets very closely, and times can be tough right now, she said.

Flory said she would tell the thieves that the van is used to serve people, and if they had it back, they might have been able to meet their needs. She said they could even provide shelter resources and other resources.

“I think that there’s a lot of need, and our organization is always accepting help, whether it’s volunteer or whether they want to donate a dollar a month to our organization,” Flory said. “Every single thing that someone can do with their free time to help serve a nonprofit is so, so valuable.”