A local food pantry is gearing up for its open house in the hopes of showing the community the work it has done as a result of its contributors and volunteers.

Eagle’s Wings food pantry of Washington will open its doors to the public Thursday, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., inviting community residents, supporters, contributors, volunteers and the like to view several new renovations it has undergone, said Ann-Marie Montague, director of Eagle’s Wings. The local food pantry has built on an addition to its warehouse and installed a new docking door on the addition. The renovation was made possible through a generous grant from the Jonathan Havens Charitable Trust, Montague said.

Montague said the due to volunteer labor in building the addition, Eagle’s Wings was able to use the extra funding left over to revamp its client choice area, an unusual novelty for the area. The revamping included painting and new shelving installed.

“Because of our size, we’re able to do this,” Montague said. “Usually, people are given a box of food, but when our clients come in, they actually go shopping for the items they want. It’s been painted and reworked so it’s a different shopping experience for our clients, and it’s gotten rave reviews since we’ve put it into operation. It’s a totally different experience, and people are totally surprised at how we do this. We want to share this excitement with our community, with our clients, with our donors.”

At the open house, attendees will have the chance to tour the facility and see some of these renovations first-hand, Montague said. Among some of the invited guests include the Food Bank of the Albemarle, representatives from PotashCorp-Aurora and the Beaufort County United Way. Also at the open house will be refreshments provided by Eagle’s Wings Board of Directors, according to Montague.

Currently, Eagle’s Wings serves Beaufort County with mobile food pantries, food deliveries and opening its doors to clients to shop for food each Tuesday. Eagle’s Wings is excited about the open house event and hopes it will bring the community out to see what the nonprofit has been doing to continue its service to the county, Montague said.

“I’d like to see as many faces from the county coming and seeing what we’re all about,” Montague said.

Eagle’s Wings is located at 923 West 3^rd St. in Washington.