Community Food Bank wraps up its year-long renovation to better serve those in need

In life, certain things are well worth the wait, and this is one of those instances.

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona is excited to know that its $4-million construction project has finally wrapped up.

What this means is that they’ve got more space for cool and frozen food storage, the parking lot improvements will help traffic flow, and there’s more room dedicated for volunteer work and training.

To date, this is the first major renovation for the building that’s housed the Food Bank for more than 25 years. The building was originally used as a furniture warehouse, and the renovations were funded with private donations.

“We are so grateful to the community and donors large and small who allowed us to take this step forward,” said Michael McDonald, CEO of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. “We were able to make so many improvements, from providing a temperature-controlled environment for the millions of pounds of produce coming into our building to making our lobby and volunteer space a more welcoming and hospitable environment.”

Last spring, the original plans for construction were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Community Food Bank was dealt with an overwhelming demand for support. However, the food bank handled it with grace — temporarily moving its drive-thru food distribution to the Kino Sports Complex while crews began construction.

For more information, visit communityfoodbank.org.