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A new Smokey Point food distribution center will allow the Volunteers of America to distribute more food to local food banks if needed.

Officials gathered on Oct. 29 to cut the ribbon for the new facility opened by the Volunteers of America of Western Washington.

“This distribution center is not for individuals but is for all 20 food banks in Snohomish County,” said Carla Gastineau, executive director of the Arlington Community Food Bank.

Food banks often purchase food from the federal government. Locally, that purchase is coordinated through the nonprofit organization Food Lifeline and often stored at Volunteers of America sites.

“So the food that all of us order with our donated dollars, that we [food banks] can order for $0.03 a pound, is all received at this VOA warehouse,” said Gastineau.

The new facility has more than 10,000 square feet of rack space for food.

“We will nearly triple our cold storage space, allowing us to accept more shipments of fresh fruits, dairy and meats,” said Steve Corsi, president/CEO of Volunteers of America of Western Washington. “This will allow our hunger prevention department to run more efficiently, and at significantly more volume."

In total, the distribution center will be able to send out about 3.3 million pounds of food each year.

Previously, the organization was leasing the former Haggen Food location in Arlington, but the Smokey Point warehouse will provide added capacity.

“This new facility will help give them new space, support expanded services and encourage future efficiencies in food distribution,” said Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert.

Sam Barr, with the cultural resource department of the Stillaguamish Tribe, was also glad that the Tribe could help.

“Feeding the people from this land and the animals from this land is something we have done since time immemorial and it honors us to play a small part in helping the food bank and helping the people,” he said.

For the Arlington Community Food Bank, the new location is only 1.2 miles away.

“For us, it is very convenient,” said Gastineau. “We did have to drive to Everett before, and it took two trips with our box truck, which is pretty old. So this will save us a lot of gas mileage, wear and tear, and volunteer time."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for food bank assistance grew rapidly.

“A recent study showed that the need for food assistance among Washington residents was about 29 percent. By the second wave of the pandemic that increased to about 42 percent,” said Corsi. “All indications predict that the need isn’t slowing and there will likely be a delay in improved food security."

The new distribution center is meant to help meet that need, as food banks have become more reliant on federal food distribution.

“During the pandemic our local donations of food dropped from about 20,000 pounds a month, to about 1,000 pounds,” said Gastineau.

In addition, need for food bank services in Arlington saw an increase ranging from 65 percent to 90 percent, depending on the month, according to Gastineau.

The federal coronavirus relief bill passed in March 2020 helped to fill that gap though.

“So we didn’t see a shortage of food here in Arlington,” said Gastineau, who added that the federal program helped connect local farmers to food banks.

“Not only did we get that food, we saw fresh milk, fresh eggs and frozen meat,” she said.

Local officials said this increased ability to support food banks would be good to keep even after the pandemic ends.

“It is my greatest hope that we learn from the capacity we developed during the pandemic and bring this into the new normal. We can do better and we’ve proven we can do better, so I hope we continue to lift people up who need it,” said Tolbert.