MALTBY – If the Maltby Food Bank can raise $195,000 by December, it will mean more than allowing the organization to buy a building and property it has rented for the last six years.
Volunteers have a goal of expanding services to become a multi-purpose community center for the unincorporated area in the Highway 9 and Highway 522 corridors south of Snohomish.
“What we want to do is remodel and improve services for families,” said Fran Walster, who helped found the food bank and serves on its board.
Computer classes, support group meetings, nutrition classes and perhaps even help with income taxes or well-child checks could be provided at the center, in addition to continuing the food bank services, she said.
“I can think of a lot of things … if we had the facilities for them,” Walster said. “What we want to do is remodel and improve services for families and have other activities.”
The food bank has been renting a 3,600-square-foot building at 21104 86th Ave. SE for the past six years. The owners of the building are offering to sell it to the food bank for $195,000, about half its appraised value.
With a goal of purchasing the building by year’s end, the food bank volunteers are organizing a dinner and auction on June 18. Tickets are $20. Volunteers are looking for donations of items to be auctioned.
“The Maltby community has been a wonderful support to us,” she said. “I’m hoping the community will help us with money and donations.”
Walster would like to see food bank operations expand, too. Now open one day a week, 2 to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, she would like to be able to have the service available on Saturdays.
“We could have a food delivery system to go out to the handicapped and seniors,” she said. “There are other food banks that do that. We’ve never been able to.”
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