The Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies is expanding to a new 50,400 square-foot facility in Grand Junction called Western Slope Etkin Family Distribution Center. Its single-dock warehouse was functional for a time. However, within four years, the food bank went from distributing 7.1 million pounds of food in 2017 to distributing more than 11.8 million pounds in 2021; it quickly began to need 10 trucks of food per week. Accelerated by the pandemic, the space became cumbersome, inhibiting the food bank’s ability to provide fully for the community.

The new Grand Junction facility will enhance distribution and supply more food. For example, the new site allows bigger storage space — 400% more refrigeration, 39% more dry storage and 59% more frozen capacity — and has access to two interstate exits, which benefits trucks and food bank partners. Additionally, it’s close to shopping centers and more visible to passersby, fostering a deeper sense of community. Because the Grand Junction facility will have a commercial kitchen, the food bank will welcome Meals-on-Wheels, anticipating a mutual, positive impact on both organizations.

“Having Meals-on-Wheels will help us do a better job of feeding our older adults,” director Sue Ellen Rodwick explains. “Collaboratively, we can also share volunteers with both organizations and serve more people.”

One of the food bank’s primary goals is to support their 145+ Hunger Relief partner organizations across their 12-county region. Support includes the ability to get food that they, or their clients, need with mobile pantries or semi-trucks. Another way the food bank supports patrons is through their Food for Kids after-school meals and the Totes of Hope program, serving kids’ weekend meals. For older adults, the food bank supplies Evergreen boxes to provide them with take-home meals. These programs increase the food bank’s distribution load and advance accessibility.

For people experiencing a hard time making ends meet, increasing convenience for food and relieving their food-cost financial obligation enables them to put money towards other things.

When Rodwick first became a single mom, she received help from partner agencies that helped feed Western Slope families. Now, being a director gives her the opportunity to give back.

“We can be there for every person or any situation, whether it’s the pandemic, a medical situation or a loss of job — any time they need food assistance,” Rodwick says. “It took me a while to realize, ‘Hey if someone helps me with food, then the money I’d use for that food can be put towards childcare.’”

The new food bank is scheduled to open in early fall 2022.

Food Bank Boxes — ***Photo by Jeremy Poland***

Find out more about the Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies at foodbankrockies.org.

Originally published in the Summer 2022 of Spoke+Blossom.

An Exciting Expansion: Western Slope Food Bank Of The Rockies