MEDFORD, Ore. – ACCESS is moving its regional food bank warehouse to a larger facility.
According to ACCESS, this past January had the highest number of visits to its food pantry, with over 10,000 people.
With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits being reduced now, it expects the demand to only increase.
The new warehouse will have about 9,800 square feet of storage for nonperishable foods, almost double the space of the current warehouse.
Food Programs Director Marcee Champion said ACCESS gets a lot of support from the community with how much food it receives, but the current warehouse can handle only so much of it.
“We have to turn some of that food because of the constraints we have in this space here,” Champion said. “At the new place we’re going, we will not have to turn away food like that, so that’s tens of thousands of dollars of free food that we’ll be able to receive every year that currently we have to turn away.”
The new warehouse will also have more freezer and cooler space.
It will be located at space llC, 2195 Joseph Street in Medford.
ACCESS says it hopes the new facility is up and running by July.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.