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.