The addition also will offer a dedicated space for the group’s volunteer program, she said, providing a place for volunteers to prepare weekend meal packs, senior food boxes, and sort and repack produce.
“This will also provide the opportunity for our community to further engage in our hunger relief work and will give the community a space to gather and give back,” she said.
The Foodbank expects to spend more than $842,500 on the new addition, which will be paid for by donations. The group’s current facility is about 31,000 square feet.
Demand for emergency food assistance surged after the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes and then skyrocketed during the COVID-19 outbreak.
But increased charitable giving helped meet the demand: In fiscal year 2020, The Foodbank received $6.2 million in private funds ― which was up from $3.2 million from fiscal year 2019.
Donated funds helped buy and distribute food and expanded food-distribution methods to meet urgent needs, Truesdale said.
She said remaining funds are being used to ensure The Foodbank has space to rescue food from local retailers ― reducing food waste ― and to store items to meet ongoing needs and prepare for future emergencies.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The Foodbank’s current warehouse was built in 2014 and designed to process up to 10 million pounds of food annually, according to a blog written by staff with the organization.
But in the last fiscal year, The Foodbank distributed nearly 18 million pounds of food, and the organization is working to increase capacity.
The Foodbank has expanded its headquarters and added staff and trucks, and in the near future it plans to expand its onsite cold storage space, staff said.
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