The South Plains Food Bank is currently moving to the new J.T and Margaret Talkington Distribution Center at 5605 MLK Blvd. The facility will be officially operational and ready to distribute food to qualified food-insecure families on Tuesday, Feb 23. The distribution center was generously funded by a 9.8 million dollar grant from the Talkington Foundation.
The Food Bank will unveil the facility during their open house Tuesday, March 29, from 11 am to 6 pm, a come-and-go event open to the public offering facility tours.
The new distribution center will allow opportunities to meet growing demands in food insecurity across the 20-county area the food bank serves. Over 7 million pounds of food is currently distributed on an annual basis to over 57,000 food-insecure individuals across the South Plains. The Food Bank can now meet the growing need through the use of a larger warehouse and distribution center. David Weaver, CEO of the South Plains Food Bank, is excited about the new possibilities the facility will provide. “We are excited to get in there and start putting more boxes together to feed more people in need,” Weaver says. “We absolutely couldn’t have done this without the grant from the Talkington Foundation. They are truly making a positive impact across our area.”
The new 60,000 square foot J.T. and Margaret Talkington distribution center will allow the Food Bank to expand the fresh produce program due to increased cold storage, therefore providing more nutritious foods to clients. “There were times when we would get valuable produce from our grocery partners, and we simply didn’t have the space to store or process it,” Weaver says. “That is just one of the many things we are excited about having in our new building: healthier food for clients!”
For the last 33 years the Food Bank has grown and added on to their current warehouse on Locust Avenue. The old building fulfilled its purpose of distribution, but was quickly outgrown as the need for alleviating hunger increased. The building is currently for sale.
(Press release from South Plains Food Bank)