Food bank gears up for opening
The interior of the new home of the Greater Washington County Food Bank will provide more storage space.
There are loading docks for trucks at the rear of the former Country Fresh Market in Centerville, which will become the new home of the Greater Washington County Food Bank.
After renting a warehouse for decades in the village of Eighty Four, North Strabane Township, the leaders of the Greater Washington County Food Bank are looking forward to using a new location in Centerville next month at a time and date to be announced.
Connie Burd, food bank executive director, and Peg Wilson, president of the food bank board, came to the Washington County commissioners’ meeting last week to accept a proclamation for Hunger Action Awareness Month.
The proclamation noted that one in six Americans are “food-deprived,” and that the Greater Washington County Food Bank assists more than 25,000 residents who need food.
Thirty percent of those the food bank serves are children and 20 percent are senior citizens.
“If you have food in your pantry that you overbought, we would appreciate your excess,” said Peg Wilson, president of the food bank board of directors.
The food bank distributed 1.6 million pounds of food last year through more than 40 local food pantries. “We also rescue hundreds and hundreds of pounds of food each year that would otherwise be thrown away,” Burd said. This year, it expects the total food distribution to rise to between 2.5 million and 3 million pounds.
The new location at 903 National Pike (Route 40) includes a one-story, commercial building measuring 24,500 square feet – formerly Country Fresh Market – and 22 acres that can be used to grow food crops.
At a hearing Aug. 24 before the Washington County Tax Assessment Appeals Board, Chairman John C. Rheel and members William West and Anthony Spossey unanimously agreed to grant the food bank tax-exempt status on the property in 2016. The purchase price was $1.1 million.
The food bank conducted contests for the most productive “Grow a Row” contributor and the gardener producing the biggest tomato, contests that ended Aug. 31.
“Grow a Row” produced – literally – a ton of food: 2,111 pounds of produce during the contest period, to be exact. The food bank received just two tomato entries. ?
“The gardeners I spoke with that were bringing in their produce all were of the same consensus that the weather really impacted their tomato production negatively this year,” wrote Hillary Salmonsen, food bank administrative manager and marketing director, in response to an email. She expects to announce the contest winners later this month.
The food bank’s next Produce to People distribution is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 6 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, 2151 N. Main St., Washington.
Clients do not need to bring any proof of income, documentation or identification to receive produce. Registration takes place at the distribution site. Clients should bring bags, boxes or a rolling cart, as they will be leaving with 35 to 45 pounds of food.
Households that qualify meet these criteria: earn within 150 percent of the federally-established poverty level; receive Medicare, Social Security, unemployment compensation, free or reduced- price school lunches, or have a temporary emergency situation, such as being the victim of fire, flood or other catastrophe. Produce to People distributions are scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month, including Nov. 3 and Dec. 8. Each distribution serves approximately 800 families.
For more information on the Washington County Food Bank, or to volunteer for the organization, interested people and organizations can contact the food bank at 724-229-8175, ext. 2.