CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There are organizations in our community who can honestly say that they make a difference every single day, but none more so than the Coastal Bend Food Bank.
For decades, it has worked to feed residents in 11 area counties and, now, their capacity to do so has increased with the construction of a new facility that is five times bigger than where it has been.
But even with the new space along Bear Lane in Corpus Christi, the urgent need to serve people remains.
“People are working, but their paycheck doesn’t stretch long enough, and they come to us for emergency food before the next paycheck comes in,” Executive Director Bea Hanson told 3NEWS recently.
Hanson says she and her staff learned much during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of that is reflected in the design of this new building. Among those lessons -- how much more efficient it is to utilize a drive-thru with easy access to the warehouse to hand out food.
Once inside, you find evidence of other discoveries.
“We went and visited other food banks to learn what they had learned when they built,” Hanson said. “One of the things they all told me, was, ‘Bea, don’t go out, go up,’ and that’s why we went up with higher racking.”
The limited capacity at the old building meant having to pay $100,000 a year for offsite refrigerated storage. But here, it is easy to be impressed by the amount of cold storage available, including a massive freezer, kept at a cool -10 degrees.
Having more capacity means a wider variety of food will be available, since the food bank no longer will have to worry about having a place to put it.
Moving on, you will find a space for social services to work with families who need help beyond the boxes of food, along with a large classroom and kitchen facilities for those who want to learn how to practice better nutritional habits, be it adults or children.
Hanson laughs as she recalls one encounter in particular.
“You ask a kid, ‘What is crunchy and orange,’ what do you think they tell you? A Cheeto,” she said.
Upstairs, there are a number of offices, a welcome addition for those staff members who have had to work out of closets. In addition, there is a large community room that will also be made available to other non-profit groups.
Hanson said that the people at the food bank are first responders and that as such, the need to expand their ability to help has never been greater.