Our New Warehouse
On May 19, a New Era for Hunger Relief in Arkansas Was Begun
The dedication of the new $8 million DONALD W. REYNOLDS DISTRIBUTION CENTER, our warehouse that distributes food for hunger relief in Arkansas was held May 19 at the new warehouse at 4301 West 65th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72209
The new Donald W. Reynolds Distribution Center more than triples the Foodbank’s capacity to acquire, store and provide food to hungry Arkansans through its network of approximately 300 agencies that give direct aid to hungry people – food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and afterschool feeding programs.
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it has awarded over $300 million to capital projects in Arkansas.
COME AND HELPO US CELEBRATE!
The Arkansas Foodbank’s New Warehouse
The Arkansas Foodbank's new $8 million warehouse at 4301 West 65th Street is nearing completion. The new Donald W. Reynolds Distribution Center will more than double the Foodbank’s capacity to store and provide food to hungry Arkansans through its network of 350 food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and school feeding programs.
The 73,000-square-foot structure is on track to be built, equipped and ready to open in the spring of 2011.
Construction of the warehouse follows completion of a successful $14 million Foodbank capital campaign, “From Hunger to Hope.” Foodbank secured a $10.3 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in the fall of 2008, and now announces the achievement of the campaign’s goal with contributions from corporations, businesses and individuals. The building was designed by designed by Roark Perkins Perry Yelvington RRPY, Inc., architects, of Little Rock.
The Arkansas Foodbank Network, founded in 1984, is the largest non-government distributor of food provided to hungry people in Arkansas. It is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger charity, and a founding partner of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, taking part in Gov. Mike Beebe’s “No Kid Hungry” campaign. The new building will replace the Foodbank’s current warehouse, a refurbished former United Parcel Service terminal at 8121 Distribution Drive in Southeast Little Rock that had served as the Foodbank’s headquarters since 1995.
The new warehouse will feature dock-high loading with stations for semi-trailers and trucks, all-new racking and storage facilities and equipment, including new high-reach forklifts, and expanded cooler and freezer space that will greatly increase the Foodbank’s ability to provide fresh produce and dairy products to the food pantries and other agencies it serves. Foodbank’s goal is not just to provide calories for consumption but also to improve the quality of diets for people in Arkansas who are hungry to help them lead healthier, more productive lives.
The warehouse will be a state “mixing center,” supplying food to the five other certified Feeding America food banks in Arkansas that are served by Arkansas Foodbank Network. The entire facility will improve the Foodbank’s efficiency in unloading, sorting and storing products for its member agencies and the other Feeding America food banks in Arkansas.
Sitemap for the new warehouse shows parking, the warehouse, a model garden, and room for expansion.
Facts about the Arkansas Foodbank Network’s New Warehouse
CONTRUCTION SCHEDULE & COST
• Construction is to be completed in the spring of 2011
• Total cost of construction: $8 million
• Result of a successful $14 million capital campaign, including a $10.3
million Challenge Grant by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
• General Contractor: Nabholz Construction Services of Conway, Arkansas
• Architect: Roark Perkins Perry Yelvington RRPY, Inc., architects, of Little
Rock
FEATURES
• Poured concrete, tilt-wall construction project with steel framing, loading
docks, dry warehouse space and cold storage facilities, driveways and parking
• The building will be a 72,928-square-foot facility
• More than doubles the Foodbank’s storage and handling capacity because of a
Steel King racking system and high-reaching fork lifts that allow five-high vertical
storage for pallets
• An “agency mart” — grocery shelf area in an air-conditioned space to serve
hunger relief agencies
• Salvage room to inspect, cull and repack or re-label donated goods
• Detention room to provide segregated storage of unexamined products for
quality control
• Cold storage and freezer that will double the Foodbank’s capacity for cold
storage
• Dock-height loading docks so forklifts can roll into the trailers for loading
and unloading
• Agency loading docks ergonomically designed for easier loading
• A total of five new forklifts and six new pallet jacks for handling pallets
of food in the warehouse
• State of the art security system
• A Big Ass Fan™ for improved air circulation in the dry warehouse area
KEY ADVANTAGES OF NEW FACILITY
• More than doubles the Foodbank’s storage capacity for dry, refrigerated and
frozen products
• Accelerates food sourcing and distribution
• Gives Foodbank the ability to handle diverse products for better diets for
the people we serve
• Improved facilities for volunteers, especially groups of volunteers seeking
worthwhile community service projects