SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The Food Bank of Central New York serves as the main food distribution hub across central and northern New York. Serving 11 different counties throughout Central New York, the Food Bank provides more than 18.6 million pounds of food – the equivalent of 15.5 million meals – to hungry families every year.
The Food Bank distributed more than 1.8 million pounds of food this past September, and the need for food in Central New York continues to grow. Lynn Hy, the chief development officer of the Food Bank, said that additional space at the warehouse is a must.
“To store this food, to properly box up this food, and to have safe volunteer space, we needed more space. So we embarked on a food bank expansion.” Hy said.
The Food bank is adding on an extra 33,920 square feet that will be dispersed throughout the food distribution center. 20,800 square feet will be added onto the West warehouse and 6,790 square feet onto the South warehouse. The Food Bank will also be adding on an additional 6,330 square feet that will go toward new office space.
Hy said the Food Bank is able to expand due to the generosity of so many people. She said that various private, corporate and individual donors are helping to fund the new additions.
“The biggest one so far is Wegmans, which came in in September with a $300,000 dollar gift for our volunteer center.” Hy said. “Because they volunteer with us and they’re such a tremendous partner to us throughout the year.”
The new additions will also allow for more staff members to be available at the Food Bank throughout the week. Because there isn’t enough current office space, the expansion will allow for more staff members to transition from working at-home to in-person.
“We still have staff that are working from home and don’t have the option to work here because we don’t have enough space,” Hy said. “So we have that small office edition so we can accommodate those staff members and also for some growth in the staff that’s within our new, five-year strategic plan.”
But the expansion is not only going to accommodate staff members; more space also means more opportunities for volunteers. And the hope is to be able to pack more food throughout the week.
“Right now, we do box packings four to five times a week to get food out into the community – the 11 counties we serve,” said Sara Tucker, the volunteer coordinator of the Food Bank. “And what’s going to happen eventually — our hope is to start doing those twice every single day of the week, Monday through Friday.”
The construction is expected to be completed by the end of April of 2024, with ribbon-cutting ceremonies in May of 2024. The new expansion will work toward fulfilling the food bank’s mission: building a hunger-free tomorrow.
“Honestly it’s so exciting for me,” Tucker said. “I’m very lucky with the amount of volunteers we have, the loyalty, and the people who really just want to come and help the community…And I just look forward to the opportunity to say this to get even more food out into the community and serve people who need it.”
