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Ground broken on Utah Food Bank distribution center in Springville

By Kelcie Hartley - | May 24, 2022

Kelcie Hartley, Daily Herald file photo

The Utah Food Bank hosts a groundbreaking event at the site of its future Timpanogos Distribution Center in Springville on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

The Utah Food Bank held a symbolic dirt shoveling ceremony Tuesday afternoon in Springville on the grounds of its upcoming 77,000 square-foot Timpanogos Distribution Center.

The distribution center is estimated to be completed in 2024. It will serve all of Utah County and the surrounding areas, offering a multitude of programs and assistance for those in need.

Springville Mayor Matt Packard welcomed UFB President and CEO Ginette Bott in a speech Tuesday, thanking the food bank for coming to Springville.

“We are so honored for the Utah Food Bank for coming here,” said Packard. “We are honored for a rich heritage, and we are grateful for the location and the visibility and opportunity people will have to be able to drive along the freeway and recognize this great opportunity for them to give back.”

Gov. Spencer Cox joined the local officials to break ground on the distribution center.

Kelcie Hartley, Daily Herald

Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the future Utah Food Bank Timpanogos Distribution Center in Springville on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

He used his time to discuss the statewide and national struggles with inflation, and how it is affecting Utahns on a daily basis. He said the need for the center has increased significantly as cost of living is increasing at a faster rate than wages.

“We estimate we have about 250,000 adults in Utah who are experiencing some type of food insecurity, added Cox. “Sadly, we also estimate about 114,000 children who are experiencing food insecurity and not knowing where their next meal is going to come from. And that’s why there is a need for this building. I long for a day where Ginette is out of a job, and I know she wants that day as well.”

The new distribution center will help alleviate UFB’s storage space issues.

“Insufficient warehouse space has meant that Utah Food Bank has had to refuse 32 semi loads annually for the last three years, at a value of approximately $1.4 million, which we’ve had to redirect to food banks in other states,” reads a UFB press release. “Our current warehouse footprint is simply not large enough to store the food we need to help Utahns struggling with hunger.”

The center will include slightly over 50,000 square-feet of warehouse and commercial kitchen space and approximately 26,000 square-feet of office, training and conference space. About 7,000 square-feet will be dedicated to fridge and freezer space to accommodate perishable products, according to UFB.

Kelcie Hartley, Daily Herald file photo

Springville Mayor Matt Packard thanks the Utah Food Bank for choosing the city as the location for a new distribution center on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

“On behalf of all of us at the Utah Food Bank, we say thank you to all of you for joining us today for recognizing us, Utah and this spot,” Bott said. “The groundbreaking cultivates for us a long planning process. I’m so humbled to be a part of this project. We started this when we noticed hunger around us was changing. This day here in Springville is a part of a huge dream.”

Gov. Spencer Cox, center, Springville Mayor Matt Packard, center right, and Utah Food Bank President and CEO Ginette Bott, center left, participate in a symbolic groundbreaking for a new distribution center in Springville on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

President and CEO of the Utah Food Bank, Ginette Bott, speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the future Timpanogos Distribution Center in Springville on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

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