Ballard Food Bank celebrates opening of its new home—a Hub for Hope in the heart of NW Seattle

Ballard Food Bank opened the doors of their new home today, the culmination of more than four years of effort to bring their Hub for Hope to northwest Seattle. Located at 1400 NW Leary Way, this is the first building the Food Bank ever owned. Ballard Food Bank expects to welcome thousands of community members in the coming weeks and months.

“Ballard Food Bank is so grateful for the incredible community support in making our new home a reality. This support means that children have food in their stomachs when they go to bed. This means older people can count on weekly grocery deliveries from a friendly volunteer. It means people know we are here when times get tough. This building symbolizes the true meaning of community: neighbors help neighbors, every day. “said Jennifer Muzia, General Manager of Ballard Food Bank.

The facility offersAccess to healthy food and essential social services in a warm and welcoming environment.The grocery-style food bank will be open to customers from all over the city. It will also feature a garden, a spacious waiting area and the Kindness Café where visitors can share food and fellowship. A large storage room will provide more space for the Food Bank’s weekend dining program, theprovides food for students in 20 schools in northwest Seattle. In addition, the warehouse will be a staging area for theHome delivery program for the elderly and homebound.

“Everyone deserves to have access to healthy food. At a time when so many children and families face hunger and poverty, Ballard Food Bank is part of an important nationwide network to care for them. This hub of hope will help our community heal, grow, and flourish. Ballard Food Bank is a great model of community support and connections, ”said Trudi Inslee, First Lady of Washington State, who spoke at today’s ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new building will have a Community Resource Hub that will house nearly a dozen partner organizations, including United Healthcare, Byrd Barr Place, Swedish Ballard Family Medicine, and the VA. These partners will provide access to vital resources, including medical exams, mental health services, apartment connections, driving licenses and more. Ballard Food Bank’s rent and supply assistance helps prevent homelessness.

The building is opening at a critical time; The demand has increased dramatically in the past 18 months.Before the pandemic, in February 2020, 3,200 people attended the blackboard or were delivered to their homes; that number has more than doubled to over 7,000 in a single month. Ballard Food Bank’s volunteer delivery drivers are now doing it950 home deliveries per week.

At 11,000 square feet, the facility is twice the size of the Food Bank’s former home on Leary Avenue. The project has been in the works for more than four years and cost $ 13.9 million. It is the first building the Food Bank has ever owned, giving the reassurance that it will be a resource for the community for years to come.

The new building is made possible by a dynamic project team. Spectrum Development Solutions supervised the project as development manager. Graham Baba is the architect and Wilcox Construction directed construction on the building. Project donors include Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Norcliffe Foundation, the City of Seattle, Boeing’s Employees Community Fund, the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust, and Washington State.

“It was amazing to see the generosity for this project. More than 1,300 individuals, businesses, and organizations have contributed with gifts starting as low as $ 5 – all of which have helped make our new home a reality. It’s an amazing day, ”said Jen Muzia.