West Shore Food Bank receives land donation
The West Shore Food Bank’s sole purpose
is to help those in need, but in recent years the organization’s
building has been the one in need.
However, that will likely not be in an
issue in the somewhat near future.
An anonymous donor recently put up the
money for a plot of land on Bills Road in Lakeside between Joe
Blogz and Lakeside Family Dentistry. The parcel, which spans about
three-quarters of an acre, will be the site of a new 3,600 square
foot food bank. The new structure will be a big upgrade from the
current 1,200 square-foot building that the food bank is currently
operating out of on U.S. Highway.
The building that the food bank is
housed in right now is a Quonset hut with rounded walls, which
proves to be rather inconvenient.
“I’m excited about having straight
walls in the new building,” said Leslie Knuth, director of the West
Shore Food Bank. “In the Quonset hut I can’t stack anything higher
than four cases tall.”
Those in charge of the food bank chose
this particular piece of land for the new facility to be built on
after comparing it to several others they looked at. This lot was
seen to be the best fit because there were no covenants on it, it
is accessible for a semi-truck and clients can easily get to it as
well.
The West Shore Food Bank is a separate
entity and is not associated with any other food banks. It relies
strictly on donations to keep its doors open and provide aid to
community members. The West Shore Food Bank’s territory spans from
the north end of Somers to Elmo. There are currently about 120
families that are being served at the Lakeside location.
Repair needs aside, that volume alone
is already reason for the food bank to upgrade, as the current
facility is too small to meet the community’s needs. As it is now,
all six freezers at the facility are over loaded. The new building
will have walk-in freezers and coolers.
“With the economy the way it is we’re
going to be serving more and more people,” said West Shore Food
Bank board of directors president Cindy Lanier. “With more people
we’re going to need more space.”
However, it is those needed repairs
that pushed the need for a new building. The current building has
undergone repairs to its roof, windows and floor already, but more
work is still needed.
“We are really afraid that our building
won’t pass health code inspections much longer,” Lanier said.
The new setup will not only be a nicer
fit for the food bank’s needs, but it should save the organization
money as well since there will no longer be a monthly rent payment
that needs made, as is the case with the current location.
Although the land for the project has
been donated, there is still the issue of constructing the
building. A great deal of that work is slated to be completed with
like-kind donations and some grants the group is looking at
applying for. Without donations of labor the project is estimated
to cost around $175,000.
“We’re hoping we’ll get donations and
grants to pay for the building,” Lanier said. “If people can’t
afford to give money we hope people will come lend a hand in other
ways with things like painting and stocking the shelves and that
kind of thing. Time is money.”
The goal is to hopefully break ground
on the project by spring, but Lanier noted there is a lot to be
done before that with planning and fundraising. The work that goes
into prepping for the construction will be well worth it
though.
“We didn’t know what we were going to
do,” Lanier said. “If our building doesn’t pass inspection we had
nowhere else to go. This enables us to build a building that serves
our needs to serve the community.”
The West Shore Food Bank not only
provides food to those in need year-round, its volunteers also
offer holiday baskets at Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.
Additionally, the group collects and distributes toys to kids in
need at Christmas.
The food bank was established in its
Lakeside location in 1992. Back then there were about six or seven
volunteers who worked at the food bank. Today that number has
increased to over 20, including a full-time secretary and Knuth,
all of whom are unpaid.