Rochester Police continue to look for suspects in a break-in at the main warehouse facility for Foodlink, the regional food bank operation.
Police say they were called to a burglary at that location on Mt. Read Blvd. late Sunday night, after Foodlink’s security director was alerted to the break-in by an automatic alarm when a door was propped open.
According to Foodlink spokesperson Mark Dwyer, security video footage indicated there were two individuals who broke in through a window and used a truck to cart off a couple of hundred pounds of non-perishable foods and other items, like diapers.
Dwyer said the number of goods taken is not a particularly large amount, considering that Foodlink distributes millions of pounds of items every year.
“This is our busiest time of year, we probably will distribute upwards of 2 million pounds of food this month alone; 20 million in any given year,” said Dwyer. “So I'm not downplaying the fact that a couple hundred does leave a mark. But in the grand scope of our food banking operations. It didn't affect our operations, to the point where the public will notice.
But besides the stolen items, Dwyer said what really hurts is what the burglary means to the Foodlink staff.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for our staff, given the fact that it’s the busiest time of year, you’re taking hours away from our team, really focusing on the mission to now deal with this,” said Dwyer.
Dwyer said that Foodlink will now be taking another look at their security procedures.
