District supports FIND expansion
Thursday, November 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Tim O'Bayley, O'Bayley Communications, 760/778-3525 tim@obayley.net or
Donna Craig, Chief Program Officer, Desert Healthcare District, 760/323-6700
$1.7 Million Grant To Help Purchase New FIND Food Bank Distribution Center
PALM SPRINGS, CA – NOVEMBER 19, 2009: Desert Healthcare District has contributed $1.7 million to help purchase a new warehouse facility for FIND Food Bank in Indio. The new facility, located at 83-775 Citrus Ave., will significantly increase FIND’s food storage capacity, enabling FIND to provide more food products to its food/meal distribution sites serving District residents. With the funding in place, the new warehouse is now owned by FIND, which is outfitting the facility for its use and is planning a grand opening celebration in January 2010.
“Our old warehouse was really outdated and inadequate,” said Lisa Houston, President and CEO of FIND Food Bank, Inc. “This extraordinary grant from the District, along with the support received from several local cities and Riverside County, will help us open our new facility in January 2010, and will allow us to serve many more organizations throughout the Coachella Valley. It couldn’t come at a better time with hunger on the rise in the valley.”
The new warehouse was purchased for $5 million, with the help of Desert Healthcare District, and the cities of Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, and Riverside County. The facility will serve as a staging area for food distribution, with food coming in from local grocery stores, growers and packing houses. Food also comes from the United States Department of Agriculture, Feeding America, and corporate donors like Quaker, Kraft, and other food manufacturers. From the new facility, food will be distributed to more than 90 local agencies who deliver the food directly to the community.
“Supporting FIND Food Bank fits with our objective of addressing food insecurity and hunger relief in the District,” said Glen Grayman, MD, Board President for Desert Healthcare District. “FIND serves many local low-income people in the Coachella Valley who are in need of supplemental food sources. This new facility will increase FIND Food Bank’s capacity exponentially. Additionally, childhood hunger is a rising problem across the Coachella Valley. This new facility will help ensure year-round support for these children.”
FIND Food Bank, Inc. is the single largest provider of food products in the Coachella Valley. During this past month, FIND’s food/meal distribution sites served more than 49,000 meals, while distributing well over 89,000 food baskets. FIND’s distribution sites range from emergency food pantries to soup kitchens to senior centers to shelters for the homeless to shelters for abused women. Many of these agencies are well known in the area and include the Salvation Army, Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs, Martha’s Village & Kitchen, Shelter from the Storm, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, USO, Well in the Desert, and many faith based organizations. These agencies get their food from FIND and in turn prepare meals, provide food and snacks for after school programs, emergency food boxes, and take food to those who are shut-ins.
FIND Food Bank was incorporated in 1983 as a nonprofit. FIND is one of 206 food banks across the United States affiliated with Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest).
Desert Healthcare District is a government agency, established by the state of California in 1948, to improve and support community health programs within a 457-square mile service area in the Coachella Valley. The District also owns and oversees the lease of Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
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