The Marion Polk Food Share will be able to store twice as much food to serve local people in need after closing on the purchase of a larger warehouse. The nonprofit has bought a building formerly owned by Don Pancho Authentic Mexican Foods which will expand the Marion Polk Food Share’s ability to prepare food and provide meals to seniors and people with disabilities, according to a press release on Thursday, April 23. The food share plans to move into the new space by the fall of 2027, according to Sam West, the nonprofit’s spokeswoman. It’s located at 3060 Industrial Way N.E. “Thanks to the incredible support of our community, we can increase the food share’s impact on families in need with a new building that expands our capacity and improves our efficiency,” CEO Rick Gaupo said in the press release. “Hunger is at a 10-year high. The food share and our partner programs are serving more people than ever, but the need is only growing as cost-of-living expenses continue to soar. There’s still a long road ahead to get the food share settled and serving more families in our new home, but purchasing the property is a crucial first step.”  Currently, the Marion Polk Food Share helps provide around 600,000 meals per month through pantry visits, Meals on Wheels and at other community settings, the press release said. The nonprofit is the food bank that supplies dozens of pantries in the region where people in need can get free food. The move comes as the organization’s current facility, located in north Salem, is “outdated” and pushing the organization’s operational capacity “to the limit,” according to the statement. The food share raised $12.4 million to buy the new building, West said. Money came from a combination of community contributions, city, county, state and federal sources. State lawmakers put $6 million toward the project in 2025. Renovations, which are expected to cost around $11.1 million, will prepare the space for sorting, packing and storing food, West said. The organization is currently in the process of raising funding for those renovations. “It’s time for a larger building. I am so proud that our community sees the value the Food Share provides enough to help us take this next step,” Holly Nelson, the food share’s board chair said in a statement. Through Meals on Wheels, which brings food to the homes of local seniors and people with disabilities, the food share provides more than 1,000 meals daily, the press release said.  The new space will have a kitchen that can prepare up to 3,000 daily meals for the program. The food share also plans to expand Meals on Wheels to serve more seniors in rural areas. There will also be a new center for volunteers at the building to streamline the process of sorting, packing and distributing food. Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. SIGN UP: Subscribing to Salem Reporter helps sustain in-depth, local reporting that Salem depends on. Invest in your community’s news. Subscribe today. The post Marion Polk Food Share to double food storage with new building appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less