The Southeast Alaska Food bank (SEAFB) was established in the early 1990’s when a local grocery store owner found that people were consistently raiding his dumpster looking for food that was still consumable. A group determined that Juneau should have a place where food could be available to persons less fortunate than most — thus the origination of the food bank. The operation is run by three employee and many volunteers.
SEAFB has been housed in many locations, first under the auspices of Gastineau Human Services, and then incorporated as its own entity in 1997. Following donation of a steel building and lease of CBJ land, the current building was erected in 2001 on Crazy Horse Drive off Industrial Boulevard. The building has served well, but the need for available food has increased in the ensuing years.
In the beginning, approximately 50,000 pounds of food annually was processed through the food bank. By 2010 we were processing over 100,000 pounds. In 2012, SEAFB received 93,000 pounds of food and milk from stores, 82,000 pounds from individual donations and purchased 13,000 pounds for a total of 188,000. In 2014 and 2015 we received and distributed almost 300,000 pounds each of those years, reaching our maximum capacity. With the limited amount of donated funds we purchase additional food when we run low on key food items. By the end of 2015 we no longer had the ability to store additional donations.
At the September meeting in 2014, the Board of Directors determined that SEAFB needed to expand the space available to serve Juneau and the surrounding communities. Our plan was simple and is described below.
Our 2015 size: 1000 ft2
Additional Increase: 1400 ft2
Anticipated cost: $200,000
The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) provided additional land for leasing. Several contractors have promised donated services.
Construction: Fall 2015 through Spring 2016
Construction Completion: July 2016
Increased capacity: Up to 600,000 pounds per year.
Number of agencies served: 32
Non Profit ID#: 92-0165056
We started laying the foundation in the fall of 2015, in the spring of 2016 we proceeded with the construction of our addition. From the start of the spring construction period construction was completed in 3 months. We could never have achieved these results without the cooperation and support of the CBJ, local businesses and many many volunteers who donated hundreds of hours of time and materials.
We opened our new addition in July of 2016. At the end of fiscal year 2017 we received and distributed the largest amount of food in the history of the food bank.
The food bank now provides healthy and nutritious food to 32 non- profit agencies and to others who due to challenging circumstances cannot afford to provide for themselves and their families. The food bank continues to operate with four employees and many many volunteers.