Unless a benefactor steps forward to pay the $1,525 monthly rent, Max’s Community Closet will be forced to close Oct. 1.

Founder Lisa Hadsall and her 10-yar-old son, Max, started the “continuous garage sale” last April to assist needy individuals and families in acquiring donated furniture, clothing, appliances and household items for little or no money.

Any proceeds earned were given to the food bank.

Max’s Closet has been operating without rental charges until recently in a vacant commercial unit adjacent to Extended Hands Food Bank at 16548 E. Laser Drive.

New owners purchased the commercial property at a foreclosure auction in June. A leasing firm notified David Iverson, Extended Hands Food Bank executive director, that the charity organization must acquire a lease for the unit.

“They said either pay the lease on a month-to-month basis or you’ll have to be out,” recalled Iverson.

Hadsall and her husband paid for one month to keep Max’s Closet operating.

“They can’t do that again,” he added.

Nor can Extended Hands Food Bank, already financially strapped, take on the additional expense.

Hadsall discussed the plight of Max’s Closet in a letter to the newspaper Sept. 11 in which she pleaded for donations and donated space to keep Max’s Closet operating.

“Her letter shows the fact that she (Hadsall) is passionate about what she’s doing. If the community doesn’t respond, then the doors will be closed because there is no way we can keep it open,” said Iverson.

What little money Max’s Closet brings in weekly, about $200, benefits the food bank, he said.

Extended Hands Food Bank leases seven units in the commercial complex. One unit, the Warehouse, houses the kitchen and cooler for the weekly, self-sufficient Friday fish fry, said Iverson.

The monthly rent on the other units leased to Extended Hands amounts to $4,200, plus electricity.

Ideally Max’s Closet should be located near the food bank because clients use the two facilities, said Iverson.

“I have a heavy heart for what she and Max are trying to do. I want it to be successful but I can’t fund it. No way,” said Iverson.

Outlook shaky

Although the outlook for Max’s Closet is dire, Extended Hands Food Bank is barely scraping by to stay alive.

“It’s like pulling hen’s teeth to just pay the bills,” said Iverson. “I could see it if you had a poor community. There aren’t that many charities in Fountain Hills that really affect the community, and we struggle to keep the doors open. We’ve done it now for 10 years.”

The new owners of the building collected $3,100 in back rent to June even though they did not own the property then. Iverson said he paid the $3,100 out of his own finances until the food bank can recoup the expense.

“People have helped us…I don’t want to come across as complaining,” said Iverson. More than 1,000 donors have supported the food bank’s operation.

“Without the Friday fish fry, we’d be dead in the water. We’re just existing…and again that’s summer time.”

Attendance for the fish fries was low during August with an average of 60 meals served on any given Friday. Before the dinners halted for July only, slightly more than 100 meals were served. The most on any one Friday night was 176.

The fry fries are available for $11.99 from 4 to 7 p.m.

The town prohibits A-frame signs advertising Max’s Closet and the fish fry on Shea Boulevard because of the potential distraction.

“Motorists on Shea don’t know about it unless they read The Fountain Hills Times. We have no other ways and means to advertise,” he said.

Any monetary donations for Max’s Closet must be funneled through Extended Hands Food Bank, a 501(c)3 organization. Iverson can be reached by calling 837-0303; Hadsall’s phone number is (480) 580-2889.

“My faith says we’ll stay open,” said Iverson. “But when you don’t have money, you don’t have money.”