MERIDIAN, Idaho — The Idaho Foodbank gave us a tour Tuesday of their new Meridian facility off Eagle Road.
Before the pandemic hit, they estimate 1 in 9 people were facing food insecurity.
Now, they say it's closer to 1 in 6 people, which is about 283,000 Idahoans.
When complete, the much larger space will replace their Boise location.
"So this space includes about four times as much dry storage for dry products," said Morgan Wilson, development officer for the Idaho Foodbank. "It also has four times as much cooler and freezer space, which is critical because nearly 50 percent of what's donated to the Idaho Foodbank is actually fresh, frozen or perishable. So those are really critical functions. Beyond that we're so excited to have a community space, which is really our first floor. That includes a new volunteer center, a new rec room for volunteers to do their work, conference spaces for nonprofit partners, as well as a teaching kitchen."
The Idaho Foodbank has raised 65 percent of what they need for the new 102,000 square foot building. The total cost of the project is $14.5 million.
They still need about $5 million more in donations to pay off the building.
They plan to start moving in this September and have a grand opening in January of 2021.