Food bank opens new hub, training facility
Heidi Hoffman, Greater Washington County Food Bank donations director, leads a tour through the nonprofit’s new facility near Brownsville Saturday.
Members of Boy Scout Troop 1369 of Cecil present flags during the grand opening of Greater Washington County Food Bank’s new 24,500-square-foot facility as volunteers, board members and elected officials prepare for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday.
BROWNSVILLE – In addition to distributing food to thousands in need, Greater Washington County Food Bank staff want to be able to teach how to cook it.
“A lot of times, we get food donations like spaghetti squash,” said Heidi Hoffman, food bank donations director. “People will look at it and think, ‘What do I do with this?'”
With a new headquarters in the former Country Fresh Market in Centerville Borough, they’ll be able to do just that. The 24,500-square-foot building encompasses a “Healthy Habits” training center, warehouse and administrative offices and has room to develop 22 acres of land for planting crops.
“We really want to make this a community center where people learn to be healthier,” Hoffman said.
The nonprofit announced the $1.1 million purchase June 29, 2015, after years of searching for a new home to replace its former site, a rented building with a 9,400-square-foot warehouse in Eighty Four.
A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday celebrated the one-story, commercial building at 903 National Pike (Route 40).
“We want to make this something special, not just for today, but for the rest of our lives,” said Peg Wilson, president of the food bank board.
The training center, with two kitchens and a classroom space sponsored by UPMC and the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program, will be used for classes on cooking, canning, nutrition, smoking cessation and personal finance.
“Learning how to cook is just one aspect of being healthy,” Hoffman said.
The classes will be available to all county residents, not just food bank clients.
Hoffman told the story of a well-dressed woman who recently came to the food bank. Hoffman assumed she was there to volunteer, but the woman revealed she had stage 4 cancer and was the primary earner for her family.
“If you think about us, all of us are just one day away from needing help,” Hoffman said.
Connie Burd, food bank executive director, said the new facility is ideally located because 13 of the food bank’s 45 distribution sites are located in the Mon Valley area.
In addition to planting crops, future plans for the space include a retail thrift store that will help fund the nonprofit.
The food bank, which serves 5,400 families a month, distributed 2 million pounds of food last year.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, who, along with state representatives Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, and Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, lauded the efforts of food bank volunteers, shared a personal story of need from her youth.
She said her mother depended on a neighborhood grocery store for dented and unlabeled cans to help feed the family.
“If we would have had the opportunity (to go to) a food bank, our life would have been different,” Bartolotta said.
For information on Greater Washington County Food Bank, visit www.gwcfb.org or call 724-632-2190.