State College Food Bank Details Plans for New Location

Plans for the State College Food Bank’s new location in College Township are coming into focus.

At Thursday’s College Township Council meeting, food bank Executive Director Allayn Beck and Michael Pratt, of Keller Engineering, presented an overview of the sketch plan for renovations and additions to the 14,500-square-foot building at 105/169 Gerald Street.

Having long outgrown its current space at 1321 S. Atherton St., the food bank completed the purchase of the property in August for $1.3 million and will be selling its current location.

“We are really positive and looking forward to having this space for us to greater serve Centre County,” Beck said on Thursday. “We are going to be able to serve anyone in need throughout the county and all the other service agencies that are also providing food and services to those in need.”

Sketch plans are not a required part of the township’s land development process and are meant to garner feedback before submitting a formal plan. Pratt said he expects that to occur in March.

Pending approvals, the food bank expects to begin renovations and construction in July or August, with an anticipated occupancy of spring 2024, Beck told StateCollege.com.

The building is currently home to several business tenants, and the last is expected to move out in May. The most visible current occupant of the property is Apple Hill Antiques.

Work on the building — which was originally constructed in the early 1980s as the home of Sir Skate — will 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. The additions will “create suitable client service areas, office areas, pantry and warehouse areas in order to execute [the food bank’s] mission,” Pratt said.

Over the past eight years the food bank has transitioned to a “client choice” model that allows clients to select their items in a grocery-store-style setting rather than receiving pre-packaged boxes and bags. The need to stock more and more items for the pantry in a multi-purpose space just under 1,800-square-feet has made the logistics increasingly difficult.

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 and providing room for expanded cooler and freezer space and helping to better assist partner organizations from throughout Centre County.

The location will allow for easier access for many clients, Beck said.

State College Food Bank’s pantry is primarily utilized by Centre Region residents, “but we are seeing an increased need from the northern part of the county coming into State College, so we like being just a little further out of town, closer to the highway, easier access that way.

“We’re still exploring kind of how we open the doors to everybody, but we are not turning people away now and we will definitely not be turning people away in this building. We definitely will be accepting people throughout the entire county.”

The new space also will provide opportunities to partner with other food pantries and serve agencies.

“We also realize that every single person in Centre County can’t come through our doors, so we work really hard to help the other pantries that are throughout the county,” beck said. “In this facility we could be holding supplies and food donations that we can then transport out to Centre Hall or Howard or the Faith Centre [in Bellefonte] to make sure that they have the resources they need to serve through their pantry.”

Council member Eric Bernier said he believes the location will be good for expanding accessibility.

“I think the location is ideal if your clientele base will be coming countywide,” Bernier said. “We learned that when the senior center was located to the mall. This is a great location for people coming in from Bellefonte and other areas of the county.”

The sketch plan also shows a new sidewalk along the property down Gerald Street to the Commercial Boulevard intersection and 42 parking spaces, including three ADA spots.

Those taking the bus to the food bank would get off at the stops along East College Avenue and walk up Gerald Street, but Beck said most clients do not use public transportation to get there.

“The majority of our clients don’t actually take the bus,” Beck said. “The amount of food they receive is equivalent to about two weeks so if you have more than two people in your house that’s at least a grocery cart if not two. So we have been providing transportation for those clients to get home. So some of them will arrive on the bus but then go home in an Uber, because we send them home that way. I would say the majority of our clients carpool … or get dropped off by a ride. A friend will drop them off and we will get them home.”

As part of the project, the food bank also will add stormwater management facilities — which currently do not exist on the property — to the rear of the site, and a collection and conveyance system of inlets, piping and curbing.

Impervious coverage on the 1.92-acre site will see a modest increase from 58.92% to 68.61%, which is within the township limits.

Council member Rich Francke said he likes “that we’re reusing an existing structure for a higher purpose,” and Chair Carla Stilson said she appreciates the improvements to the property.

“It’s a great location,” Stilson said. “I absolutely see what you’re doing there. And of course College Township is really excited about the reuse and the improvements.”