Eastern Illinois Foodbank Announces Warehouse Purchase in Plan for Expansion

For Immediate Release

URBANA, Ill. (April 1, 2022) – Eastern Illinois Foodbank (EIF) today announced the purchase of a neighboring warehouse as part of their plan for expansion. The building, former home to Lang Distributing, is located just 23 feet to the north of the current EIF facility. The purchase modifies EIF’s original plan to expand their existing building to the south, and instead the two buildings will be connected and renovated.

Photo submitted by Eastern Illinois Foodbank.

“We were thrilled when the opportunity arose to purchase the building next to ours. Instead of adding new construction to our existing facility, we can add the same square footage at a lower cost,” said Kelly Daly, President and CEO of Eastern Illinois Foodbank. “I’m grateful to our Board of Directors and staff for their flexibility in making our vision for growth a reality. None of this would be possible without the generosity of our community.”

The purchase allows EIF to:

Provide the same deliverables as the original plan at a lower cost (18,000 square feet of additional space, new volunteer center, addition of second dock area, additional cold storage)
Complete renovations in less time
Avoid disruption of service to EIF partner agencies during renovation process
Break down scope of work into smaller projects allowing for cost control
Build to the south if needs change in the future

Eastern Illinois Foodbank publicly launched a $3.6 million capital campaign, More than Food, in January to raise funds for the expansion, and have already exceeded the goal. Construction on the warehouse expansion is currently planned for summer 2022.

Anyone interested in learning more about the campaign can visit www.eifoodbank.org.