Good Cheer Food Bank on south Whidbey Island has moved to spacious new quarters near Bayview Center, replacing the 700 square feet of space in a Langley thrift store that had housed the nonprofit group since 1967.
Space there was so cramped volunteers sometimes had to turn away food donations, said Kathy McLaughlin, executive director.
The food bank is now housed in a building formerly owned by the Masons. Built on 4.2 acres, it has plenty of room for expansion, she said.
Its nearly 2,600 square feet of space has room for the food bank and a food distribution center. The Employee Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound contributed $47,000 for a walk-in freezer and refrigeration unit.
The cost of the land, building and remodeling totaled $662,527.
The new location provides more confidentiality for food bank customers, McLaughlin said.
Until now, customers had to push their groceries through the thrift store and load the food into their cars on one of the busiest streets in Langley, she said.
“We felt some people had too much pride and wouldn’t use the food bank for that reason,” she said.
The new location also has more parking for the up to 350 households that use the service each month.
Last year, Good Cheer provided food for 767 children, 1,275 adults and 128 seniors, about 13 percent of the south Whidbey population, McLaughlin said.
The food bank will be using a new “points” system to give people more choice about what they get, she said.
“If you’re a frugal shopper, you can feed your family for a whole month,” McLaughlin said.
More than 100 people volunteered in the drive to find a new home for the food bank.
The upcoming open house on Nov. 18 is being held in part to honor their work, she said.
“The community owns Good Cheer,” McLaughlin said. “They’re very proud of it and support it in a big way.”
Space formerly used by the food bank at the thrift store will now be used for more retail space. Thrift store profits help support the food bank.
The new building is a big step for the food bank, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary, McLaughlin said.
“Although they’ve always done a wonderful job of feeding the hungry, our outreach will be so much bigger,” she said. “We won’t have to turn away free food. We can pass it on to the community.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
See the new food bank
The Good Cheer Food Bank has moved to 2812 Grimm Road near Bayview Center on south Whidbey Island. An open house is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 18.
The food bank is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Call 360-221-6454 for information or go to www.goodcheer.org.
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