State College Food Bank staff and volunteers were joined by community leaders and four Penn State football players on Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking for the food bank’s long-needed new home.
The ceremonial event preceded construction that will begin this month to renovate and expand the building at 169 Gerald Street in College Township, which was formerly home to multiple businesses that have relocated.
“This has been a long time coming,” Allayn Beck, executive director of the State College Food Bank, said. “When I started at the food bank six years ago, this was just a dream. It was something we talked about. Then the pandemic happened and we all decided this needs to happen now. We need some more space.”
Having long outgrown its current space at 1321 S. Atherton St., food bank leaders began looking for a new location in early 2021. It took well over a year, but with the help of Marc McMasters of Re/Max Centre Realty, they landed on the Gerald Street property. The food bank completed the purchase of the property in August for $1.3 million and will be selling its current location.
The new facility will allow for a much larger pantry area, expanded distribution hours, enhanced programs and upgraded work spaces and storage areas. All of the food bank’s operations will be consolidated in the new location, eliminating the need for off-site storage at the Nittany Mall, providing room for expanded cooler and freezer space and helping to better assist partner organizations from throughout Centre County.
“It’s going to enable us to help so many more families and individuals in our community and we’re going to be able to help so many more of our service agencies and fellow food programs throughout the entire county,” Beck said. “We are going to be reaching more people and getting more food in the hands and the mouths of the people that need it in our community. We are very excited about that and it cannot happen soon enough.”
In addition to renovation of the interior of the 14,500-square-foot building, plans include a 1,080-square-foot addition at the front of the building, a 3,156-square-foot addition at the rear and 318-square-foot truck dock. Fernsler Hutchinson Architecture, Keller Engineers and Poole Anderson Construction are among the companies working on the project.
The new location is expected to open in the spring of 2024.
Among those on hand for Thursday’s celebration were Penn State football players Golden Israel-Achumba, Ibrahim Traore, Ta’Mere Robinson and Tony Rojas. NIL collective Success with Honor facilitated their participation, but Israel-Achumba and Traore have already been involved in individual efforts to support the food bank.
A redshirt junior, Israel-Achumba has been making donations to the food bank since he was a freshman, when he would have teammates drive him to a supermarket to pick up items that he then delivered to the food bank. Several months ago, Tyler Jordon, CEO of the Champsraise, a charitable platform for athletes, approached Israel-Achumba and Traore about starting a campaign for the food bank.
“Us both seeing people in our community in need of food is gut-wrenching and it hits close to home,” Israel-Achumba said. “To be able to use our platform and try to get some donations for the State College Food Bank and help out in any way we can, it means a lot.”
He and Traore both stressed the importance of the services the food bank provides.
“It’s truly an honor to be here today to celebrate the amazing work that this food bank does for our community,” Traore said. “Having access to nutritious food is something that we all need and we should all appreciate. Here in State College our local food bank helps provide these important services to families in need. This is something that we should all take the time to recognize. I would like to thank everyone involved with the food bank for doing such an incredible job and work in our community.”
While the State College Food Bank is primarily used by Centre Region residents, Beck previously said that they are seeing “an increased need from the northern part of the county coming into State College,” and that no one will be turned away.
The new location will provide easier access for many clients, Beck said earlier this year. Although the nearest bus stop is on College Avenue, few clients use public transportation because they are getting food for at least two weeks each time. For those who do need a ride after getting their groceries, the food bank provides them with an Uber.
The new space also will be able to hold supplies and food donations to be transported to pantries in places like Centre Hall, Howard and Bellefonte.
“Sadly, it’s an enormous need,” state Rep. Paul Takac, D-Lemont, said. “I think it started with the pandemic and it has just continued to grow ever since. I spend a lot of time in the northern part of the district, places like Howard and Snow Shoe in the northern part of Centre County, and they have long lines of people at their weekly food distributions. They need support, and the State College Food Bank, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, there’s so many organizations that really help them deliver those much needed services.”
Takac was a member of College Township Council when land development plans for the new food bank location were introduced in 2022. He said he thought it would be a great opportunity to help the food bank fulfill its mission of assisting clients and partner organizations, especially as it outgrew its capacity at the State College location.
“What makes this community so special is that so many folks are involved and engaged, and the food bank really exemplifies all of that,” Takac said. “The people on the board, the people who volunteer, the people who use the services, we’re all in the same community and everybody’s invested in making this a better place.”
Jens Thorsen, chair of the food bank’s board of directors, said those connections are what makes it so inspiring, bringing together support from all facets of the community.
“Feeling like you’re a part of the State College Food Bank, to me, makes it feel like you’re part of the State College community,” Thorsen said.
He added that the food bank continues to raise funds for the new location to ensure it operates debt-free.
“We’re very well on our way in that mission, but we’re not there yet,” he said.
