This is a 12-year project the Foodbank has been working on, Riley said, and this is the last phase.
The new building, which is being funded in part by a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant, is currently estimated to cost $4.5 million to build, said Lee Alder Truesdale, chief development officer of the Foodbank. The Foodbank also received a grant from the Dayton Foundation and support from other donors.
“Our team believes that you will be pleased when this building opens, and we look forward to creating programming that further reflects your desires for our community-centered building,” Truesdale said.
The building will provide wraparound services for the Foodbank’s clients, Truesdale said.
The new community center building is designed to do exactly that, she said.
“This new community-centered building provides the space to offer skills-based job training, workforce development programs,” Riley said.
It will provide a space for SNAP, WIC application assistance, she said.
“The building will also offer neighbors the chance to meet with a medical profession or to learn about their benefits offered by their insurance provider,” Riley said.
The work Riley is most proud of will be the on-site probation office at the new community building, she said.
“Those will be staffed for justice-involved citizens so that they can meet their court mandated requirements and our on-site certified community health workers will actively screen and refer clients to other wraparound services that this community provides,” Riley said.
In what can be divisive political climate, addressing hunger is a unifying topic, according to Riley.
“We have both donors that are Republicans, and we have both donors that are Democrats, and our team represents that. Our Foodbank team represents the same slice of the community that you all see every day,” Riley said.
This will be the last big project Riley works on for the Foodbank with plans to retire in about four years, she said.
“Lee Lauren Truesdale will be taking my place as a successor of this Foodbank,” Riley said, adding that she feels like she currently co-leads with Truesdale. “...I don’t know that I could have stayed through COVID without her.”
The Foodbank has received support from all levels of government, including the state and local county commissioners, Riley said. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is also an advocate for the Dayton Foodbank.
“We are considered a small foodbank with two and a half counties,” Riley said.
In Ohio, there are 12 Feeding Amercia foodbanks working with 3,700 hunger relief organizations, like food pantries, according to the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
The Dayton Foodbank has the smallest delivery area with the sixth largest need, Riley said.
“To me, the Foodbank team is beloved, and the work that they do is sacred,” Riley said.
The Foodbank anticipates the construction will be completed around fall 2025.
Ferguson Construction is the contractor for the project, winning a three-way bid process, Riley said.
Troy Erbes, senior vice president of Danis Construction, also sits on the Foodbank’s board of directors and helped with design of the building, Truesdale said.
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