Capital Campaign

Feeding Their Future

Food Distribution Center Expansion Project

When The Food Bank purchased its current facility in 2003, we acquired a building that would allow for expansion if the need for food assistance continued to grow. In just seven years, food acquisition and distribution increased 53 percent. The increase is due in part to the economic challenges facing our state, which have caused more people to go to food pantries for the first time ever. Due to this rapid increase, the need to expand usable space is critical for the following reasons:

We are turning away food. The current size of cold storage is 10,000 square feet with 3,000 feet of refrigeration and 7,000 feet of freezer space. The planned cold storage renovation will increase cold storage capacity by 40 percent.

We are turning away volunteers. The current volunteer room will hold a maximum of 100 people at one time. TFB has seen a huge increase in volunteerism, especially with people packing Buddy Packs. The renovations call for increasing the size of the current space by 40 percent and creating a volunteer break room. Our mission could not be accomplished without the assistance of our volunteers.

We need to be more efficient. The building was built in 1981, and is not very efficient in use of space or energy. Plans call for updating lighting, heating and air conditioning and to maximize use of the entire building by reconfiguring wasted space.

We are serving more people. The demand for food continues to rise. In just 10 years, we have more than doubled the amount of food distributed. Even with our efforts, we know that there are more families in our service area who need our help.

For a more detailed description of The Food Bank’s need for expansion, you may download this 8-page brochure created by Inside Columbia magazine. Feeding Their Future – Campaign Brochure

To make a gift to the Feeding Their Future capital campaign, call 573-474-1020.