MARYSVILLE – Construction will begin soon on a new $600,000 Marysville food bank that’s nearly twice the size of the current one.
The new food bank will be built behind St. Mary’s Catholic Church at 4200 88th St. NE. The food bank and the church will share a parking lot.
The current food bank is in a 3,400-square-foot building adjacent to the Marysville-North County YMCA on 60th Drive NE. The YMCA needs the building to expand its programs, and the food bank has outgrown it.
| Food bank The Marysville Food Bank accepts cash donations and items such as shampoo, toothpaste, bar soap, laundry soap, powdered baby formula, large diapers, toilet paper, paper, paper towels, tissues, unopened nonperishable food items, fresh garden vegetables, turkeys for the holidays, and game if it has been butchered by a licensed butcher. The food bank cannot accept opened food, home-canned or home-cooked food or items past their pull date. The food bank is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday. To donate money, send it to the Marysville Food Bank, P.O. Box 917, Marysville, WA 98270. |
“We’re going to have a lot more room,” with nearly 5,000 square feet, food bank director Leslie McCullough said. “It’s very exciting. It will still be centrally located for the clients.”
In October, the food bank served 1,048 homes and 3,617 people. November brought a higher demand because of the Thanksgiving holiday, and the agency served 1,501 families and 5,191 people.
Construction will begin in the next couple of months, and officials hope the new food bank will be open by summer, McCullough said. They hope it will have a loading dock and a forklift to make it easier for volunteers to unload trucks.
The food bank is staffed by more than 70 volunteers, including many “who are getting up in years” and some with back problems, she said.
Over the last couple years, food bank officials have been writing grant applications to collect money for the new building and the necessary fees. They’re now writing a grant application for a forklift.
Like many food banks, the Marysville facility is moving to the “shopping style” of distribution, with stations where clients can select their own items, such as fruits and vegetables, McCullough said.
“We try to provide nine meals for each member of the family. Our people can come twice a month for the major distributions, and can come on alternate weeks and get fresh bread and produce,” she said.
The food bank serves people who live in the Marysville ZIP codes (98270 and 98271), including some larger Ukrainian immigrant families, a couple of families that relocated here after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, people who need only temporary help and those with ongoing needs.
YMCA officials have yet to decide what they’ll do with the current food bank building, executive director Wendy Bart said.
“Despite the fact that we added on last year, we’re filling up our program space. We’re looking at what’s going to be the best thing with the biggest impact for the whole community. We’re excited about it,” Bart said.
Their review includes looking at current program gaps as well as community needs and ways the facility could help serve the needs of Marysville School District students, she said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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