Kathy Reed reports from the Gifts of the Heart 20th anniversary celebration on Sat., Oct. 1, 2022.
There are exciting things in store for Gifts from the Heart food bank in Coupeville.
An event Saturday celebrating the food bank’s 20th anniversary was the perfect setting to make some big announcements concerning the organization’s next 20 years.
“First, we are building our own food bank,” said Molly Hughes, board president of Gifts from the Heart.
They Said It
“For years, the food bank has been stashing away pennies – and I do mean pennies – in a building fund. Ken Hofkamp, owner of the Red Apple Market, sold us the back parcel of a vacant lot between Frontier Building Supply and Terry Mobile Park at a really good price. It’s the perfect location for us. It’s walkable for a lot of our clients, it’s low impact and it will be low maintenance, which is what a food bank should be.”
This is big news for the 20-year-old food bank, but believe it or not, that’s not the really big news, according to Hughes.
“Our new food bank will be about 2,000 square feet on the first floor, and on the second floor will be two, two-bedroom apartments designated for workforce housing,” she said. “We’re still working it all out, but we know our two apartments will be able to rent at below market rate.”
[Ed. Note: Ms. Hughes is the mayor of Coupeville.]
