Dozens of residents and members of a local church rallied Friday demanding a food pantry be reopened.

The rally took place in front of the Osborne Association offices on Westchester Avenue.

Members of the Word Of Life International Church claim that the Osborne Association, which they lease space from, shut down their food pantry and wrongly evicted them from their house of worship. The church says the Osborne Association has been trying to force it out of its space for two years.

According to the church, in June the association went to court and got an eviction notice. The pastor claims they weren't properly served and that the eviction papers were mailed to Osborne's offices. He claims the association deliberately waited for the eviction notice to expire on June 17 and a day later shut down the church along with the food bank.

Parishioners and residents have returned to court in an effort to get their food pantry reopened for the many families that depend on their services.

The Osborne Association did not respond to repeated attempts by News 12 to make contact.