About 75 well-wishers gathered Tuesday in north Yakima to celebrate a big milestone in the effort to combat hunger — the opening of Northwest Harvest’s new food distribution center.
The towering 200,000 square-foot facility near the corner of Fruitvale Boulevard and North 20th Avenue will warehouse meat, fresh produce and other food items that will supply food banks across the state, including Yakima.
Construction started on the project in May 2021 and met its December 2022 completion date.
Several area leaders attended Tuesday's grand opening, including Yakima Mayor Janice Deccio and Yakima School District Superintendent Trevor Greene, who shined some light on the need here. Daunting statistics about the area’s food insecurity were shared.
Greene said the Yakima School District alone handed out more than 173,000 meals during the first nine days of the pandemic.
Greene, former Toppenish High School principal, also said high poverty in the Lower Valley has led to school districts offering all students free lunches, and that more than 80% of students in the Yakima School District qualify for free or reduced lunches.
Partnering with Northwest Harvest has helped the school district provide students with meals, he said.
“This is a community issue not just in this community but in the entire region,” Greene said, applauding the new distribution center.
Sunny Cameron leads people on a tour through Northwest Harvest’s new distribution center in Yakima, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
Food insecurity
The need also has been greatly felt in the Lower Valley and across the region, said Lucy Smartlowit, executive director of the nonprofit Peacekeepers on the Yakama Reservation.
The organization connects families to vital services, including food.
In 2021, the organization helped 56,486 families — 180,988 individuals — with food assistance and conducted 299 drive-through food distributions. That totaled nearly 2.2 million pounds of food distributed to families across four Native American tribes, she said.
Boxes of potatoes are seen stacked on shelves inside Northwest Harvest’s new distribution center in Yakima, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
“We’re making this effort with the tribe to continue to build the relationship with Northwest Harvest,” she said. “I’m excited to see what will happen with our relationship with Northwest Harvest and what this facility will bring.”
According to statistics provided by Northwest Harvest, one in 12 Washington households experience food insecurity. The Supplemental Nutrition Program — SNAP — helps one in nine Washington workers put food on the table.
Esther Magasis, director of Yakima County Human Services, said the county ranks the highest in the state for SNAP recipients and ranks second in the state for the number of children experiencing food insecurity.
After a ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the warehouse were offered. The warehouse is outfitted with offices, receiving docks, restrooms and provides 100,000 square feet of freezer space.
At the north end of the warehouse is a large staging area and shipping dock where workers, mostly volunteers, will repack food into deliverable amounts.
People tour Northwest Harvest’s new distribution center in Yakima, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
Store to open in April
There’s more to the facility than warehousing food for food banks. There’s also a free store that will serve as a food bank but offer a shopping experience.
The newly built store is located on the south side of the warehouse facing Fruitvale Boulevard and opens April. Its operation will mirror one operated by Northwest Harvest in Seattle — SODO Market.
The store will feature a coffee bar and a community room where local service providers can hold events to educate the community about nutrition or connect them to services.
Donors across the state and in Yakima coupled with a $3.2 million state capital grant has helped realize the project.
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