NeighborImpact’s new 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Redmond — more than twice as large as the old one — will allow the nonprofit to store more food and to provide thousands more meals to Central Oregonians through its 60 partner agencies.

Wire shelves stretch high across the room, and the cooler is accessed by a large sliding door that doesn’t take up space by opening outward. The warehouse also includes rooms for food packing and preparation, which will support both partner agencies and the NeighborImpact mobile pantry, which travels to food deserts across the region.

The repack room has outlets that hang from the ceiling so cords won’t tangle together on the floor, while the demonstration kitchen has space for groups to learn different recipes and specific food prep.

“This is a space that I want folks to feel welcome and included, a community kitchen. We’ll have meetings here, we have tables for trainings here,” said Carly Auten, NeighborImpact’s food bank director.

Food pantries and donations

As a regional food bank, NeighborImpact’s warehouse will distribute food to its partner agencies across Central Oregon, which include St. Vincent de Paul and The Giving Plate, among others. The warehouse had its ribbon cutting event Friday in Redmond.

The warehouse receives most of its food from Oregon Food Bank, though food is also given through grocery food recovery programs and donations, said organizers.

Food is given out to the community through food pantries, childcare groups, backpack programs for kids, shelters, the mobile pantry and more.

The warehouse took two years to build, breaking ground in January 2023, and the nonprofit is looking forward to using the new space.

The repack room allows NeighborImpact and volunteers to repack bulk packages, such as 50-pound bags of carrots, into smaller boxes for distribution to organizations like The Giving Plate. Previously, food was unloaded outside, with lettuce exposed to 80-degree sunshine before being moved into coolers. Moving forward, there will be more space to navigate as food is stored.

The warehouse’s freezer and cooler are for the refrigerated and frozen items that make up nearly 40% of the food that comes into the warehouse. The cooler is four times as large as the old one, said officials.

Staff intend to hold classes in the demonstration kitchen with the help of the Oregon State University Extension service and partner agencies.

The warehouse must undergo another round of inspections before it can be filled with food and fully open, said Auten. The old warehouse will be used for emergency storage in the future.

Additional storage and food preparation

Oregon’s Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, of Bend, read a poem she wrote titled “Hunger Dreams” for the event. The poem describes a child’s hunger that, without food, devours hopes and dreams of anything else.

During the event, Auten shared stories of being able to help people through the food bank and seeing how grateful they are because of the work NeighborImpact does.

“Food is foundational. Every human being, no matter their circumstances, deserves to eat,” she said. “Without food, nothing else, not school, not work, not life, can thrive, and that’s the heart of the work we do at the food bank.”

Jefferson Greene, chief of the Wasco tribe, part of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, is a former NeighborImpact board member. He offered a prayer during the event and said he’s proud of the work he’s done with the organization.

The number of meals provided by NeighborImpact has more than tripled since 2016. The warehouse was funded through donations from Deschutes County, the Roundhouse Foundation, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, Oregon Food Bank, TDS Broadband and others.

NeighborImpact is also now piloting a home delivery food program called Fresh Express in Redmond for those who are house-bound.

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