GROVE CITY — It's a crime that might make even the Grinch shake his head in disbelief.

A crook broke into the Grove City Community Food Pantry on South Center Street last week and stole more than $200 — most of which was in a jar being used to collect donations from the public to buy Thanksgiving turkeys for the needy.

But in the wake of someone's greed, the community's generosity and holiday spirit has abounded — and then some. The stolen money — many times over — has been recouped.

“It's beyond overwhelming,” Traci Gerard, the food pantry's executive director, said Friday.

“Since the burglary,” she noted, “we've collected about $5,000 from businesses and individuals. Everyone wants to help, it seems.”

But that's not all.

Another $1,600 has been raised from a GoFundMe page set up by a food pantry volunteer.

“The community has been absolutely great,” Gerard said. “I don't even know what to say.”

Police, meanwhile, are continuing to investigate the break-in and theft. Investigators said the burglary occurred between 4:30 p.m. Nov. 12 and 8:30 a.m. Nov. 13.

But police declined Friday to discuss their investigation. They wouldn't say if they have any suspects.

Gerard suspects the perpetrator had knowledge of the pantry's operation, particularly where the money was kept.

She said $40 was taken from a cash register and about $200 from the collection jar.

“Our safe was also crowbarred,” she said.

The crook, it appeared, used a pry bar of some sort in a failed bid to open the small, fireproof safe.

“Luckily,” Gerard said, “we have it bolted down.”

There was no surveillance video to help solve the crime since there were no security cameras at the pantry and the neighboring Thrifty Threads store that shares the building.

The pantry runs the secondhand store, which raises money for the charity.

Because of the crime, Gerard said, officials who operate the pantry have decided to install security cameras. They also have purchased more locks.

“I'm paranoid now,” she admitted. “Since this happened, it's buttoned up so tight.”

She double- and triple-checks everything before leaving the building at the end of the day.

Pantry officials are hopeful that latent fingerprints they said police lifted from the scene might help to solve the crime.

Police urge anyone with information about the burglary and theft to call 724-458-7925.

For more information about the food pantry or to make a donations to the charity, the public can visit www.gcfoodpantry.org or its Facebook page.

Checks can be made payable to Grove City Community Food Pantry and mailed to 114 S. Center St., Grove City, PA 16127.