Lancaster (US), Nov 15 (AP) A central Kentucky food pantry that helps feed hundreds of people each month has been destroyed by arson less than two weeks before Thanksgiving, officials said.

After the blaze on Sunday, the Garrard County Food Pantry was deemed a total loss, Gregory Cash, who helps run the pantry, told news outlets. Among the items destroyed were 200 Thanksgiving turkeys that were brought in the day before.

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“We hand out about a million pounds of food here a year. Feed about 400 seniors and 800 families a month. It's not sunk in yet really what happened," Cash told WKYT-TV.

“I don't know where we'll go, but if we have to, we'll do it off of the back of my truck and trailer, that's fine until we get something built. We're not going to stop."

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Hours after the blaze, police arrested a woman who was seen on surveillance tape at the scene and charged her with second-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief, Lancaster Police Chief Rodney Kidd said.

According to an arrest citation, surveillance video shows the woman rummaging through some cardboard and paper on the side of the building and investigators said she admitted to putting a lit cigarette on the items, WLEX-TV reported.

Officials say no one was inside the food pantry when the fire occurred and no injuries were reported. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)