The State College Food Bank this week launched the public phase of a $3 million capital campaign as it prepares to move to a new and larger home that will meet the local community’s growing needs.
Having long outgrown its current space at 1321 S. Atherton St., the food bank last year acquired the property at at 169 Gerald Street in College Township and began renovations and expansion early this summer. The “Fighting Hunger. Feeding Community. Building Hope.” campaign will allow the food bank to move into its new home and expand its services debt-free.
Space limitations at the current location, where the food bank has resided since 2014, have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, and the agency has seen a 40% increase in the number of individuals it serves over the last year, executive director Allayn Beck said. In September, the food bank served 400 households, representing more than 1,000 people.
“We are just really feeling the constraints of our current building,” Beck said. “We have to have more food in the building. It takes up more space, and then the space to have that many people coming through our doors.”
The new location will double the food bank’s space. All its operations will be consolidated in the new location, eliminating the need for off-site storage at the Nittany Mall, providing room for expanded storage, cooler and freezer space and helping to better assist partner organizations from throughout Centre County.
“Having everything under one roof is what we’re aiming for and the goal of this new building,” Beck said. “And we really want to expand our programs. We’ve seen that increase and the need to continues to grow. The county continues to change and … the best way to kind of face what’s happening in Centre County and solving those problems in the world of food insecurity, we need more space to grow our programs. We just don’t have the capacity to do that in the building we’re in right now.”
The food bank’s new home, which is expected to open in the spring, will offer a much larger client choice pantry, which Beck said “will be set up a lot like a free grocery store.”
That will provide the ability to serve more people at once, and more expeditiously.
“Right now a lot of people are waiting quite a bit of time to get through our pantry, so it will help eliminate some of those problems,” Beck said.
More than 4,000 square feet of additions to the existing 14,500-square-foot Gerald Street building also will create a loading dock, large warehouse and donation processing center that will allow for 24-hour drop-off, so that community members can bring donations at any time.
Expanded warehouse and freezer space will allow the food bank to store more food to be used at its client pantry and strategically distributed to other food distribution sites in the county.
“Right now we have such limited freezer space,” Beck said. “If we were to get a donation, let’s say Sam’s Club had a pallet of chicken we couldn’t physically hold all that chicken right now. We’d have to work with Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, who’s a great partner of ours, but that chicken most likely would have to leave Centre County. In this new facility, we can keep that pallet of chicken. We can use it in our pantry, [and] we can call another feeding program to see if they can use it and have the flexibility of distributing that food throughout the county.”
In addition to better supplying other food programs in the county, the food bank is looking to add programs such as a system for delivering personalized grocery orders, offering cooking demonstrations, expanding its no-cost produce markets.
“As household needs become more complex, I am so grateful for the State College Food Bank’s willingness and ability to address food security in a unique and creative way,” Faith Ryan, Centre County director of adult services, said in a statement. “Instead of focusing on geographic boundaries and limiting access to food assistance, the State College Food Bank has eliminated barriers for people who work in the State College area and often struggle to access their local food pantries due to availability and conflicting schedules. I look forward to collaborating with the State College Food Bank staff once they are settled into the agency’s new location so we can continue to improve upon their service delivery system and best support the Centre County community.”
Manny and Stephanie Diaz Serving as Honorary Campaign Chairs
Recognizing that the agency would need a larger location, the food bank’s board began earmarking gifts for a new facility several years ago, and the quiet phase of the formal fundraising campaign took place over the last year.
To date, $2.1 million of the $3 million goal has been raised.
For the public phase of the campaign, Penn State football defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and his wife, Stephanie, are serving as honorary chairs.
“Stephanie and I are honored to chair this crucial campaign,” Manny Diaz said in a statement. “No one in our community should have to wonder where their next meal is going to come from. Big problems need big solutions, and the new facility is paramount to meeting the needs of our community.”
“I’ve seen first-hand the needs of the people in our community,” Stephanie Diaz added. “The new expanded home for the Food Bank will be vital to serving those who face food insecurity.”
Stephanie Diaz has been a weekly volunteer at the food bank since the family moved to State College last year, Beck said.
“She’s jumped in feet first to help us since they moved here,” Beck said. “We just really appreciate her and her time. …When we were talking about the campaign, she and Manny wanted to help us, and this was a great way for them to support us.”
Donations can be made through the State College Food Bank’s website, in person or by mail to 1321 S. Atherton St., State College, PA, 16801.
Dave and Hollie Woodle have pledged $100,000 in matching funds to effectively double the impact of contributions to the campaign.
The campaign is the first in the State College Food Bank’s 41-year history, a testament to the support it has received over the years.
“We’re very thankful for our community,” Beck said. “I think it’s important to note that it’s our first campaign in over 40 years that we’ve ever had a capital campaign and that is due to the generosity of our community. We’re very grateful for that and that were in this place and able to to do this. We’re looking for that support from our community again.”
Paula Williams, executive director of the Centre County United Way, said the new facility will further the food banks efforts to strengthen the local community.
“We value their partnership and the collaborations they build with so many of our agencies,” Williams said in a statement. “Their new facility is exciting as it will allow them to expand their work and serve more families and individuals in Centre County.”
