WILMINGTON — Five acres of land on the southside of Wilmington will become the new 35,000 square-foot Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina by the end of 2022. Crews broke ground Thursday at 1000 Greenfield St., the former Everybody’s location. The grocery store burned in 2018 and the shopping plaza since has been demolished.
In its stead will be the home of the nCino Hunger Solution Center, funded by local tech company nCino through a million-dollar pledge. The new facility will expand operations and run additional programs that feed more people across Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties.
According to a press release, the new food bank will be able to store more dry food and offer 80% more freezer and cooler space to store produce, meat, and dairy items for others. It also will have a community garden overseen by Feast Down East.
Liberty Healthcare donated $200,000 for the food bank to purchase a refrigerated tractor trailer to help distribute the food. The trailer – the first of its kind at a branch outside of Raleigh — will hold up to 26,000 pounds of food. It will increase the food bank’s overall distribution by 37% and help expand its reach into Duplin County, according to a release from Liberty Healthcare.
Roughly 94,000 people, including around 19,000 children face hunger in the food bank’s service area, and 25,000 seniors live at or below the poverty level.
Have tips or comments? Email [email protected]
