Food bank open house planned for Saturday
Two years after Greater Washington County Food Bank closed on its location in Centerville Borough, the nonprofit organization plans a grand opening and cookout from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the former Country Fresh Market, 909 National Pike West, Route 40, east of Brownsville.
There will be a ribbon-cutting at noon.
The food bank moved from its longtime location in Eighty Four in fall 2014, leaving its 9,500-square-foot facility for 24,500 square feet and four additional loading docks.
“We want to be able to say ‘thank you,'” said Heidi Hoffman, food bank donations director. “We could not do what we do without the residents of Washington County and the corporations.”
There will be tours of the new facility, including its dual kitchens and classroom space sponsored by the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program and UPMC.
Besides hands-on cooking classes, the training room will be available to host job fairs and classes on various topics, such as writing effective résumés, how to have a successful job interview, smoking cessation and how to read labels on foods.
The goal of the classrom and training center, Hoffman said, is “helping our clients and the community live a healthier lifestyle.”
Another part of the tour will be the opportunity to sort foodstuffs. The food bank is always recruiting volunteers age 16 and older to sort and pack. Those who are younger than 16 can volunteer as part of a chaperoned group.
The food bank serves more than 5,400 families each month from 45 distribution sites, including pantries, senior citizen residences and after-school backpack programs.
It has 7,000 volunteers, from regulars to casual helpers, not including those who participate in “grow a row” produce donations. Last year, those growing an extra row resulted in donations of literally a ton of food during a summerlong contest: 2,111 pounds of produce.
Food bank officials had planned on planting an orchard in May on part of the 21-acre site, but the arrival of the periodical cicadas forced postponement until next year.
As part of their 17-year life cycle, female cicadas lay eggs inside tree branches, causing withering known as “flagging.” Large trees can withstand the onslaught, which causes clusters of leaves at the tips of branches to turn brown, but saplings are especially vulnerable to the insects’ invasion.
After announcing a planting date in January, Hoffman said she learned during Ag Days at Washington Crown Center that the cicadas were coming and it would be better to wait until 2017.