HELENA — The Helena Food Share Community Food Resource Center is now open after construction began over a year ago.
The organization held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
Attendees got a tour of the facility and learned about its features and how it will help address hunger in the greater Helena area.
The 20,000-square-foot facility is located at 1280 Boulder Ave.
It cost roughly $12 million and was funded through state, federal, and local grants and donations.
Moving from two buildings to one, Helena Food Share has all its staff and volunteers in the same facility.
According to Food Share, "one in seven residents of Helena struggles with hunger," and "one in five Helena children don't know where their next meal is coming from."
"We're in a facility now that helps us to serve people better than we were able to before. To provide more food, locally produced foods, make them available to people in more accessible formats and in a space that treats people with dignity and respect. I think people have been positive about it and had a good, uplifted feeling. They feel good about shopping in a space that feels like anybody could come here and get food," said Bruce Day, executive director of Helena Food Share.
The new facility has ten different areas, including the market, a warehouse, a garden, cold storage, and a commercial kitchen.
With the Community Food Resource Center now open, anyone can visit it Monday and Thursday from 12:30 to 6:30 PM and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:30 to 3:30 PM.
