The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri will open its new Food Bank market on Columbia’s Business Loop this morning.
The market is designed to provide a food distribution experience more like a grocery store. Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri president Lindsay Lopez tells 939 the Eagle that the food bank market replaces the central pantry on Big Bear.
“We decided that we would seek a different location, found this space. It’s more central, it’s more visible, it’s more accessible. It’s three times larger. And we also decided that we would re-brand this space as the food bank market,” Ms. Lopez says.
The food bank market, which is near Firestone and the Parkade Center, has about 40,000 square feet and another 100,000 square feet of parking lot. It will also have dedicated areas for nutrition education, and Compass Health is coming on board as their medical partner. Ms. Lopez tells 939 the Eagle that it will also provide access to support resources to better serve the whole person.
“So not only will it provide more access for the neighbors that we’re serving. But now we can do things like medical screenings and mobile vaccinations, and partnering outside of what we already are doing with the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, partnering with them in new ways,” says Ms. Lopez.
The facility opens this morning at 10. Ms. Lopez says its regular hours will be Tuesday-Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.
The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri’s website describes itself as a regional disaster and hunger relief network “that acquires and distributes millions of pounds of food annually to partner agencies across a 32-county area.”
