Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Second Harvest Food Bank has completed construction of an expanded facility to meet a greater need for food distribution.
Executive Director Michael Iberis said since Second Harvest was founded in 2004, the need for food has increased threefold.
“Through our partner agencies, there are currently 15,000 people a week going to a food pantry or soup kitchen to get a meal or a box of food,” Iberis said.
Neighboring business Struthers Steel Services donated land for Second Harvest to build the 2,000-square-foot expansion.
“We’re becoming somewhat landlocked in our building,” Iberis said.
Before the expansion’s completion, Second Harvest used off-site facilities to store food. Having the expansion on-site will save the pantry money, and give easier access to its food supply.
The new expansion can house about a half million pounds of food.
“The good news is that we’ve been able to find more food to bring into the Mahoning Valley. The bad news is that more people are in need of assistance,” Iberis said.