West Alabama Food Bank Requests Funding From Tuscaloosa For Big Move, Expansion

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The West Alabama Food Bank has big plans on the horizon as it moves from its former location on McFarland Boulevard in Northport to the Buffalo Rock facility in Tuscaloosa on 65th Avenue.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

West Alabama Food Bank Executive Director Jean Rykaczewski and attorney David Popen presented a funding request to the Tuscaloosa City Council's Finance Committee on Tuesday, with city officials appearing optimistic when discussing a more involved role for the City of Tuscaloosa following the nonprofit's move.

"One of the things that's so tragic is we haven’t contributed to this group before because they have been in Northport, but they feed our kids and that’s not right," Council President Kip Tyner said during the meeting, ahead of providing his vocal support for the food bank.

As Patch previously reported, the West Alabama Food Bank has embarked on a five-year, $10 million capital campaign to both expand its warehouse capacity, while also building out its services and offerings. The food bank was able to secure the Buffalo Rock facility for $3.25 million after selling its Northport location for $1.4 million.

The five-year plan will see the nonprofit put up half of the costs for the project — $5 million — from the sale of its former location and its reserves. The goal, Popen explained, was to raise $1 million toward the capital campaign in each of the years of the current plan.

To date, $1.2 million has been raised from two dozen different funding sources.

"We intend on leaning harder over [the next five years] into the programs that are working," Popen said. "We intend on adding some new programs — programs we know they need, that we know that can be effective, but quite frankly for the lack of physical space, we’ve not been able to launch to this point and time, but we will beginning in 2023."

Popen also gave an update on recent developments for the new location, including the addition of a $1.8 million freezer and cooler at the food bank's new home in Tuscaloosa. Once fully operational, the food bank projects that its capacity will increase by 25%-30% in the first three to five years — a central tenant of its longterm plan.

It will also incorporate a teaching kitchen to instruct those in the community on how to prepare the food they receive from the food bank.

Here's a breakdown of needs and funding sources for the West Alabama Food Bank

"We’re not building something or aspiring to something that’s putting the organization in financial jeopardy," he said. "This is not a finished product. We’ve got a number of corporate leaders and civic leaders that we’re still meeting with. But our hope is by the end of this month we’ve finalized our team."

With the wheels set in motion for the project, Popen came before the Council's Finance Committee to request $250,000 from the next city budget — the same amount food bank requested from the Tuscaloosa County Commission in May. The Commission has yet to take action on any funding as of the publication of this story.

District 2 Councilor Raevan Howard represents the district where the West Alabama Food Bank will operate and voiced support for its efforts.

"It touches so many families," she said. "It touches very many families through our school system in our community. Churches depend on it, so many different families and there are so many different needs, especially with prices being what they are. It’s almost impossible for a low income family to make it without this type of supplement in their life."

Indeed, the West Alabama Food Bank distributed 737,000 pounds of food last year in Tuscaloosa, including monthly food boxes for nearly 400 seniors to ensure their food security.

"When somebody comes to us, we’re normally the first agency," Rykaczewski said. "They pay a shared handling fee — 18 cents a pound. ... When we give it to a person, it's free. What we’re doing is buying food, recovering food from grocery stores."

At the conclusion of the presentation, Tyner again expressed his support before no formal action was taken by the Finance Committee.

"I had proposed [the funding] to the mayor and spoke with [Finance Committee Chair Lee Busby]," the council president said. "We’ve done this before for Easter Seals or other organizations, so that’s what I'm proposing."

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.