AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) -- The Food Bank of East Alabama is set to build a new and improved Community Market in Opelika.
This project is long overdue as the food bank’s current Community Market on Pepperell Parkway opened in 2003. The Food Bank looks to break ground on the Community Market as soon as March 24.
The community has been reassured through the actions of Martha Henk, the executive director of The Food Bank, that they are prioritizing this project, and believe it will make a real difference.
"Help us make this building a reality. It'll have an enormous impact on our community,” Henk said during Monday's Lee County Commission meeting. (Husting, Opelika-Auburn News)
The new Community Market is to be built at 1600 First Avenue, and at 15,000 square-feet, it will be more than three times as large as the current Market.
This property was purchased in 2022, and shortly after, a fundraising effort to raise $3.8 million for the project began. So far, they’ve raised $1.7 million, completed the design plan, and hired a construction team.
"We're going to create a community center, and it's going to be beautiful, and it's going to be colorful and warm and welcoming,” Henk said.
According to Henk, this development was made in efforts to aid rising growth in food insecurity in the area. According to Feeding America, in 2023 13.4% of Lee County's population, 23,020 people, was food insecure. In 2024, that number grew to 15.5% (27,270 people).
The construction for this project is set to take nine to 12 months according to Henk, and after the grand-opening, they will leave the Pepperell Parkway location for good.
"Amid all of these changes, one constant remains. The food bank is only as strong as our community of support. The unwavering dedication of our volunteers, of our generous donors, in the collaboration with community partners, all have allowed us to become what we are today," Henk said.
If all goes according to plan, the project will be complete by this time next year.
All information and data courtesy of Alex Husting, Opelika Auburn News.
