ST. GEORGE — A new food pantry is coming to Hurricane Valley.
With a forecasted opening of mid-2024, Utah Food Bank Hurricane Valley Food Pantry will provide services and food resources for Hurricane Valley and eastern Washington County residents, according to a news release issued by Utah Food Bank on Monday.
Utah Food Bank Hurricane Valley Food Pantry, located at 600 N. 500 West in Hurricane, will be open five days per week, replacing the former Hurricane food pantry.
Utah Food Bank and Five County Association of Governments are partnering at this location to provide services that previously required roundtrip travel to St. George. Utah Food Bank will service this pantry from their Southern Distribution Center in St. George, which opened in 2011.
Utah Food Bank purchased the Hurricane property in 2023 and has been working diligently with local contractors and vendors to retrofit it for the organization’s needs. The 9,200-square-foot facility will consist of 5,600 square feet of warehouse and pantry space, along with 3,600 square feet of office space, half of which will be leased by the Five County Association of Governments.
From this building, Five County Association of Governments will offer services to help with challenges that typically go hand-in-hand with food insecurity. These services include registration for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children programs; domestic violence counseling; multiple housing assistance programs; the Home Energy Assistance Target program; and the Weatherization Assistance program.
Kim Cooper, director of community action for Five County Association of Governments, said in the press release they are excited to help fill a need.
“I had been proposing a new pantry in Hurricane for many years because our budget just wouldn’t allow us to do more,” Cooper said. “We look forward to being able to bring such desperately needed access to services for our community, and our partnership with Utah Food Bank will make this possible.”
One of Cooper’s employees noticed the building when it was listed for sale, and thought it would be a perfect location for a new pantry, the news release states. Cooper reached out to Utah Food Bank leadership about the opportunity, which set off an exhaustive planning effort to make the project work. Once the plan was developed and the location was determined, Utah Food Bank turned to Sen. Don Ipson, who has served Southern Utah for the past 16 years as a senator and has been a Utah Food Bank Board of Directors member for 10 years.
Ipson was instrumental in securing almost half of the $42 million for Utah Food Bank’s three-year statewide expansion project, which includes the Hurricane property. Much of this funding was provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, which was granted to the state of Utah by the federal government to alleviate the negative impact of COVID-19.
“Thanks to Senator Ipson’s help in securing this funding for Utah Food Bank, they have been able to build, renovate or purchase five locations across the state to more efficiently manage the logistics required to distribute more than 50 million meals statewide,” the press release states.
Ipson called this project a “win-win.”
“I can think of no better way to utilize this federal funding than to provide food, and access to it, for Utahns experiencing hunger,” Ipson said. “Being able to have these two organizations combine efforts to provide such needed food and services to Washington County and its surrounding communities is a win-win for our residents and will improve lives.”
Ginette Bott, Utah Food Bank president and CEO, said in the press release:
“No single entity can solve the issues that Utahns facing hunger experience. This is a perfect example of how the spirit of collaboration makes Utah’s non-profit community stronger, and I am looking forward to seeing how this model changes the way resources are offered in the Hurricane valley.
“This one-stop shop approach will help us better serve Utahns for generations to come as our population grows and changes. We can’t thank everyone involved in this project enough for making it possible. It truly takes a village.”
About Utah Food Bank
Founded in 1904, Utah Food Bank has operated under various names but remains true to its mission of Fighting Hunger Statewide by providing food to a statewide network of 245emergency food pantries and agencies. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank distributed 60.2 million pounds of food and goods, the equivalent of approximately 50.1 million meals, to families and individuals in need across the state.
For more information about Utah Food Bank, visit www.utahfoodbank.org. Find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @utahfoodbank.