WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Wichita Police report a decline in catalytic converter thefts over the past year, but there were still more than 1,000 in 2022. One of the latest victims is a food and pantry charity in Wichita.
Inside the building at the Table of Hope, all is business as usual. Stock the shelves, making sure your weekly food donations are ready to go. But outside, the charity is paying thousands to fix their trucks because they keep getting affected by the theft of the catalytic converter.
“We have people who live in seven counties who come to this food pantry,” said Jackie Carter, the Table of Hope pastor.
Police are hoping to find suspects, but Table of Hope says it’s time to do something to stop it.
In the video player above, you can see where a truck stole the catalyst, even though it was chained to the truck for safety.
They have security cameras, but this is the sixth time someone has stolen a catalytic converter, costing the charity thousands of dollars, even after insurance.
“We have to find a way to protect these trucks,” Carter said. “A thousand dollars a month on catalytic converters is not manageable. We can’t keep doing this.”
So what comes next? Carter says it’s a big garage.
They want to build on their property to protect their trucks, so this isn’t going to keep happening. This way, they can continue to spend their money on what they say is the real mission.
“I think that’s what we should do,” Carter said. “I think that’s what we are called to do. There was no hesitation in Christ’s words when he said love me, he loves God and he loves your neighbor.
The church that helps run the Table of Hope food pantry says it will cost at least $50,000 to build a garage, and while they’re grateful for all the community support to carry out the mission, they’re hoping someone will step up to help build that garage.
