Cultivate expands storage facilities
Jun. 20—SOUTH BEND — Cultivate Food Rescue celebrated the opening of its new 22,000-square-foot cold storage facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
The state-of-the-art facility will expand the organization's operational base in South Bend and rescue over $47 million of nutritious meals that would otherwise go to waste.
"Today, we celebrate not just a facility but a future where food insecurity is a thing of the past for our neighbors in St. Joseph, Elkhart, and Marshall counties," said Executive Director Jim Conklin.
The addition of the cold storage facility will allow Cultivate to rescue 20 million pounds of perishable food annually, 10 times more that the organization currently rescues.
The improved efficiency of the new facility on Cultivate's operations will significantly impact vulnerable children and adults living in St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties, broadening the nonprofit's service to over 200 regional food pantries and social service agencies.
In addition, the expansion can provide nearly two meals per day to every food-insecure child and offer a vital daily meal to 62% of vulnerable adults and children living in poverty in the organization's three-county region.
To get involved and learn more about Cultivate's efforts to leave no neighbor hungry and no food wasted, visit www.cultivatefoodrescue.com.
