JENKINS TOWNSHIP – A ceremonious groundbreaking was held Monday afternoon as non-profit groups celebrated the anticipated start of construction to build a new food bank in Luzerne County.
The Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Center for Healthy Living will be built on a $1.2 million piece of property donated by Mericle, at CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park East, near Avoca.
"I think it`s really wonderful that people who are in the food business will donate this food that would have gone to waste in some cases, or have not been used the way it should, to a cause that really needs this food,” said McGowan Charitable Fund Board President Sue Gin McGowan.
Commission on Economic Opportunity Executive Director Gene Brady said the new 50,000 square-foot facility will have much more refrigerated space for fresh produce, than what is currently available at the Weinberg Food Bank in Wilkes-Barre.
“More importantly, (there will be) more space for coolers and freezers that were going to be able to handle fresh commodities,” said Brady.
Construction on the Center for Healthy Living is expected to be completed by next July.