DAVENPORT, Iowa — River Bend Food Bank announced their $7.2 million expansion during a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday, Feb. 15.
It's all part of the food bank's "Expanding to End Hunger" capital campaign, where it will increase warehouse capabilities to provide twice as much food in the coming years.
"I've been keeping this under wraps for months," River Bend Food Bank CEO Mike Miller said. "It's not just bigger, to give us enough capacity, but it's more efficient. It's more welcoming to our partner agencies. It incorporates the best practices of food safety, there's just a lot of really cool things that have been incorporated into this."
The food bank's Davenport warehouse sat at 60,000 square feet. This expansion will add an additional 25,000 square feet.
"If there's one thing that we're excited about is to affirm the belief in this community that everyone deserves the dignity of access to adequate and nutritious," President of the John Deere Foundation Nate Clark said.
John Deere provided start-up funds to the Food Bank back in 1982. On Tuesday, they pledged $1 million towards the $7.2 million expansion.
"Our vision for the food bank is the same as it's ever been even 40 years ago," said Clark. "We wish to eliminate hunger in this community and lift the work of the Riverbend food banks, we have no question that that will be accomplished."
Construction on the Davenport warehouse expansion is set to begin in August.
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