A crowd of Quad Citians got a taste of how River Bend Food Bank is helping those struggling with food insecurity and how a new expansion and renovation will aid in advancing its mission to end hunger.
A couple hundred guests gathered Thursday, Aug. 1, at River Bend’s headquarters and warehouse at 4010 Kimmel Drive, Davenport, to celebrate the $5 million capital project. Greeted by River Bend’s employees, the crowd included food bank volunteers, board members, agency partners, construction team members, donors, vendors and community leaders who toured the modern office spaces and added warehouse space.
“This expansion sets us up for the future. It gives us the space that we need. It provides some flexibility for volunteer organizations and a safe environment for our pantries to load product,” said River Bend President and CEO Chris Ford, who was in his new post for just three weeks before the open house. “And most importantly, it’s a welcoming space for the community.”
The expansion project, which saw several delays and changes from its original plan, involved a project team of Bush Construction, Origin Design (architect); Paragon Interiors; DMW Design and Nissi Marketing, all of Davenport.
The $5.1 million project, which has been in the works since 2019, included a 10,000-square-foot addition. It now houses staff offices and collaboration spaces and other modern amenities. As part of the expansion, workers removed the former, crowded office spaces and reclaimed that space for additional warehousing and volunteer activities.
A ‘milestone event’
“This is a milestone event for River Bend Food bank because it gives us so many opportunities to be more efficient in how we serve the community,” Mr. Ford told the crowd of supporters. “We have additional space now that will allow us to do multiple volunteer opportunities activities at one time. It will allow us to store more food.”
Celebration festivities included a ribbon cutting with the Quad Cities Chamber Ambassadors, building tours, refreshments and hands-on activities along a Nutrition Trail. Moving from each station guests learned some of the challenges for food banks and those who rely on their support to make ends meet. Fun exercises and displays offered lessons on nutrition, food costs, how and what to donate and other facts. Guests tried their hand at packing food boxes – much like the food bank’s volunteers do – as they walked along an assembly line.
Mr. Ford said the food bank draws countless volunteers who come there to donate time sorting and packing food that is picked up by some 400 partner agencies across 23 counties in western Illinois and eastern Iowa.
That volunteerism amounted to more than 20,000 hours of donated time last fiscal year, he said. “That is truly dedication and compassion at its best. When you combine that passion and that dedication with a group of employees that come to work everyday willing to feed hungry people you begin to understand we’re not only providing food to people but we’re providing hope and support for our community.”
But the expansion project was not without its challenges. That began with the COVID-19 pandemic that led to rising building costs as well as increased demand for services. The increased need also created budgetary issues as food costs escalated.
Food insecurity rises
“While the population in our service area has decreased by a half percent, the number of people suffering from food insecurity has increased by almost 30%,” Mr. Ford told reporters at the open house. “That obviously puts a lot of strain on our resources.”
Based in west Davenport, the food bank serves five counties in Iowa and 18 counties in Illinois.
Mr. Ford, who joined River Bend in February 2021 as its food sourcing manager, most recently served as its chief operating officer. He was promoted July 1 to replace former President and CEO Nancy Renkes, who had returned to River Bend in October 2022 to take the helm after a two-year stint as executive director at Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
A native of the Quad Cities, Mr. Ford brings 30 years of food industry experience. He applauded the River Bend development team whose fundraising made the project a reality. “They have done an outstanding job not only on the capital campaign but raising money just in general to raise food. And I’m very thankful for all of our employees.”
According to Mr. Ford, the facility improvements were made possible by donations from about 2,000 individuals and organizations across the service area.
“We’re very proud and grateful, and I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the people who supported this,” Marie Ziegler, River Bend’s board chair, told the QCBJ during the community celebration.
While those donations all represented new funding, Ms. Ziegler said River Bend had been planning for the expansion for years. For example, it set money aside for the first phase, which included a previously installed new 5,000-square-foot freezer to expand storage capacity.
Safety improved
With the second phase, Mr. Ford said the reconfigured space and new offices create a better work flow increasing efficiencies in operations as well as improving safety and food storage.
Before the renovations, the warehouse docks posed a safety hazard for the hundreds of pantry volunteers who come to pick up food to take back to their communities and pantries, he said. “We rebuilt the receiving area. Prior to the remodel, it was an eight-foot drop from where food was to where their vehicles were.” Now they can pull right up and load their car on the same level, he added.
Among the appreciative volunteers was Cathy Ginter, who volunteers weekly at the food bank and serves on the board of the DeWitt (Iowa) Referral Center & Pantry, which has only been an agency partner for two years.
She was pleased with the new docks and work areas where volunteers pack food. “We have much more space now. It was really hard to move around and it was getting pretty cramped,” Ms. Ginter said.
She said their pantry, like many, sees people who are having to make difficult choices and need the pantry’s support to get by now. “Many have double incomes and they still can’t make ends meet,” she said.
