BY LINDA BENTLEY | JANUARY 2, 2013
Foothills Food Bank has new forever home
FFB has launched a $500,000 capital funding campaign to pay for its new facility
CAVE CREEK – The Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center (FFB) has purchased a new 5,000-square-foot facility at 6038 E. Hidden Valley Rd. which will become its new permanent location.
To pay for its new home, FFB has launched a $500,000 capital funding campaign.
FFB, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013, was founded in 1988 due to a large Hispanic population in need and served on average 45 families per month.
Today, the food bank sees an average of 375 families per month with the majority of those served non-Hispanic.
The food bank is also seeing more people who are living in their cars or out in the desert and utilizes its network of volunteers to meet with the homeless, one-on-one, to assist them with finding the resources they need to get back on their feet.
According to executive director Pam DiPietro, the food bank needed to expand from its 2,000-square-foot facility to better serve the more than 9,000 individuals and families in the Desert Foothills area.
“We all have been affected by the recession in recent years and the people in our community have felt the impact of this economy more than many,” said DiPietro. “We have food bank customers from very affluent areas. The recession has reached far and wide, sparing few.
Since 2008, our client base has increased by 486 percent. We currently have more than 400 volunteers who help keep the food bank doors open.”
FFB’s new location will allow it to serve families, individuals and seniors while providing adequate food storage.
Because nearly 40 percent of those served are from the Cave Creek/Carefree area, funds from the capital campaign will cover the purchase cost of the facility so FFB can maintain a permanent base in Cave Creek.
Renovations have already begun and food bank personnel expect to be moved into the new facility in May 2013.
Donations may be made online at www.foothillsfoodbank.com /capital-campaign or by check to Foothills Food Bank, PO Box 715, Carefree, AZ, 85377.
Contact Pam DiPietro at 480-488-1145 or via email: foothillsfoodbank@ gmail.com for more information.
