An expanded food distribution center is set to open soon in Island City, one which will help Community Connection of Northeast Oregon provide an added boost to families and individuals who have fallen on hard times.

The Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank’s new food distribution center is set to open by early August at 10213 N. McAlister Lane, said Margaret Davidson, executive director of Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, which operates the food bank. The new distribution center will have 8,500 square feet, almost eight times the 1,100 square feet the regional food bank’s distribution center has at its La Grande site at the Union County Senior Center.

“This is wonderful. The community is really pulling together to help us,” Davidson said.

The total cost of the project is $1.04 million, which includes the purchase price of the building formerly owned by Pendleton Grain Growers. The funding has been provided by about eight grants, Community Connection and donations from individuals and businesses.

Community Connection has received $150,000 in donations from individuals and businesses, $65,000 more than Davidson’s initial goal.

“People have been so generous,” she said.

The larger distribution center will allow the regional food bank to maintain a stronger reserve for the pantries it provides food for in Union, Wallowa, Baker and Grant counties. It will also put the food bank in a position to better address emergencies such as those which could be caused by natural disasters and extended power outages, Davidson said.

The new distribution center will have more refrigeration space, allowing the regional food bank to provide more fresh food items, such as milk and eggs.

“It will give us more options. We will be able to provide a wider variety of healthier foods,” Davidson said.

The new distribution center will not only provide more space inside but also outside, with an expansive parking area, making it much easier and safer for large trucks to make deliveries. Davidson noted that presently it’s difficult for large trucks to make deliveries at the Union County Senior Center which has a much smaller and more crowded parking lot.

The distribution center’s move to Island City will have no impact on the services it offers to the public at the Union County Senior Center. All services there now will continue, including food distribution services.

Community Connection began looking for a larger distribution center site about 2 1/2 years ago.

The search was frustrating at first. The first six sites looked at failed to meet all of Community Connection’s needs. Davidson said for a while it appeared that Community Connection would have to construct its own building. Then it was learned that the PGG building, which Romans’ Precision Irrigation had just moved out of, was available for sale.

Community Connection leaders soon determined that the PGG building had met all its needs.

“Everything clicked. It was perfect,” Davidson said.

Renovation work started in late March. The construction manager for the project has been Mat Barber, of Community Connection.

“He has been invaluable in keeping the project moving,” Davidson said.

The Northeast Regional Food Bank must be out of its storage building at the Union County Senior Center by July 31 due to an order from the Federal Transit Administration.

The FTA issued its order because the food bank’s present location was originally built to serve as a site for the operation of a public transportation operation, Davidson said. Northeast Oregon Public Transit, which Community Connection also operates, will later use the site to house vehicles and equipment.

Davidson said the FTA order spurred Community Connection to begin searching for a new distribution center site. She noted though that, even before the order, the organization needed a larger distribution center.

“We knew we needed more space before then,” she said.

The Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank provides food to 18 pantries in Union, Wallowa, Baker and Grant counties plus additional sites including Department of Human Services offices. The food bank provided 1.3 million pounds of food in 2020.