The Vermont Foodbank will temporarily relocate its distribution center and offices to 780 East Barre Road, Barre, VT, on March 1, 2022 in order to renovate its facility at 33 Parker Road in Barre. The Barre distribution facility currently serves as one of three food distribution warehouses and as administrative headquarters for the state-wide organization. The temporary move and renovations will create only short-term interruptions in services provided at the Barre facility; operations out of the Foodbank’s Brattleboro and Rutland distribution centers will be unaffected and other services and distributions across the state will not be impacted by the relocation or renovation. The Foodbank anticipates that the renovations to the 33 Parker Road facility will take 10 months to complete. By moving daily functions to a temporary facility, rather than continue limited operations at the Parker Road facility, the Foodbank estimates that it will save 2-4 months of work on the total project timeline.
The Barre distribution renovation, planned in 2018 and 2019, was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now moving forward. Funding for this project was secured prior to the pandemic through a capital campaign. Additional supplemental funding has been secured to address unanticipated, increased building material costs.
The Barre distribution center was built in 2000 with a goal of handling two million pounds of food per year and about 20 employees. In 2020 the Foodbank distributed 19.6 million pounds of food, and in 2021 17.6 million pounds of food were distributed. The Barre facility handles about 65% of the total, state-wide, food distribution for the organization.
“This renovation will transform our ability to provide more fresh food to local communities. In the past six years we have tripled the fresh fruits and vegetables available,” offered John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank. “This renovation will allow for the much-needed increased capacity, particularly for fresh foods. This will allow the Foodbank to support our network partners, including local food shelves, meal sites, and housing sites, so that together we can ensure that everyone who needs food is able to access it now, and in the future,” continued Sayles.
Network and community partners who receive food deliveries from the Barre facility as well as network partners and food recipients who usually pick-up at the Barre facility have been notified individually of changes to their pickup or delivery schedules. Questions about pickups or deliveries, or other services at the Barre facility, can be directed to the Foodbank at 802-476-3341. The Barre distribution center will be closed to the public on February 25th and 28th and March 1st for Town Meeting Day. Operations will resume at the new, temporary Barre location on March 2, 2022.
Beginning in March, up-to-date information about the temporary relocation and renovation will be available at vtfoodbank.org.
About the Vermont Foodbank
The Vermont Foodbank is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, providing nutritious food through a network more than 300 community partners – food shelves, meal sites, schools, hospitals, and housing sites. Food insecurity has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic and the Vermont Foodbank and its network have been on the front lines, working to ensure that everyone has the food they need to maintain their health. Last year, the Vermont Foodbank provided over 19 million pounds of food to people throughout Vermont. The Vermont Foodbank, a member of Feeding America, is nationally recognized as one of the most effective and efficient nonprofits and food banks in the nation. Learn more at www.vtfoodbank.org.
