God’s Pantry CEO Mike Halligan said there’s nearly a quarter of a million people in central and eastern Kentucky who may not know where their next meal will come from. He said the food distribution organization is limited in capacity. Halligan said a groundbreaking Monday for a new home signals a way to address future limitations.
“We are actually consolidating our current facility on Jaggy Fox Way here in Lexington as well as our commodity storage facility in Winchester Kentucky in Clark County. We are consolidating both of those facilities into this operation, so we have one cohesive more efficient operation,” said Halligan.
God’s Pantry will be moving into a former Webasto Company warehouse. Halligan noted it creates flexibility in boosting annual capacity from just under 40 million meals to around 60 million for families in central and eastern Kentucky. The God’s Pantry executive added 15 of the $20 million cost of the move has been raised through a generous gift, sale of properties, and donors.
“We handle about $80 million of food a year, so calculate the return on investment. 20 million turning it into $80 million of food a year. That’s a pretty good return on investment,” said Halligan.
The new location is expected to open in about a year.
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