February is a time to show your love. And while flowers and candy come to mind, one local organization is hoping you’ll think outside the box of chocolates this year when it comes to giving from the heart.
Working tirelessly to achieve its mission of a hunger-free community, the Northshore Food Bank serves close to 300 families each week from St Tammany and Washington parishes and distributes approximately 80,000 pounds of food monthly through need-based programs. This January marked a milestone for the organization, founded in 1984, with the grand opening of its new $2.5 million food bank building.
“This is an exciting day for our organization and Washington and St. Tammany Parishes as well,” said Terri Turner-Marse, CEO, Northshore Food Bank. “The face of hunger has changed in our community. It’s not simply the critically impoverished any more. So, access for all our clients is essential to our organization. The nearly 8,000 families the food bank touches each year will be more efficiently served in the new, well-equipped food bank. But we’re not done yet. Although we’ve raised 80% of the needed funding, we still need help in the form of capital contributions, food donations and volunteer hours to reach our goals.”
Visions for the new Food Bank building and renovations for its Resale Shop have been a highlight of the organization’s long-range plan for nearly 5 years. “The Northshore Food Bank now has increased capacity and operational efficiency making it an even more invaluable resource to hungry families in our community,” says Jimmy Rogers, Chairman of the Board of Northshore Food Bank. Located in downtown Covington at 125 W. 30th Avenue, around the corner from the former food bank location, the new facility along with renovations of the existing campus are allowing the food bank to fight hunger on the Northshore by capitalizing on every opportunity to acquire and provide food.
The over 13,000 square foot facility began serving the community on January 2, 2020. The new Northshore Food Bank features improved safety and traffic flow, increased warehouse space, larger freezer/refrigeration capacity, and a volunteer area, enhancing the food bank’s ability to nurture bodies and strengthen spirits through its programs and resources.
The project was designed by fl+WB Architects and built by Kent DesignBuild. Renovations have been made to the existing food bank building to accommodate the Resale Shop while operations of the Food Bank moved to the new building, expanding the overall footprint of the organization.
The Northshore Food Bank is located at 125 W. 30th Avenue in Covington. To learn more about this project and how to make a donation, please visit northshorefoodbank.org or follow them on FaceBook @northshorefoodbank.
