Watch now: Food bank expands with Vienna site, seeks to solve local ‘food desert’ | State/Region
During one of their Zoom calls, Roberts shared his dream to find a cold storage facility to serve Southern Illinois pantries. The geographic center of that area would be Vienna.
The 3,600-square-foot facility in Vienna will house fresh fruits and vegetables to be distributed to Southern Illinois food pantries and soup kitchens.
Marilyn Halstead
Andy Sisulak asked Roberts if he was looking for a 3,000-square-foot cold storage facility. Roberts said he was.
“A few weeks later, Andy called and said he found a 3,600-square-foot facility for lease or purchase in Vienna,” Roberts said.
The facility was located near Interstate 24 and the intersection of two state highways.
Roberts called a real estate agent he had worked with in Evansville and asked if, by chance, he had any interactions with Sparky Crowder, who owned the Vienna facility. As it turns out, the realtor had sold another building owned by Crowder.
Glenn Roberts, executive director of Tri-State Food Bank in Evansville, Indiana, stands on a ramp at their new Vienna cold storage facility.
Marilyn Halstead
Tri-State Food Bank leased the building at 310 Commercial Drive in Vienna, with an option for purchase. The building was built as a freezer, so the floor is insulated. It works extremely well as a cooler, according to Roberts, and was holding sweet corn Tuesday morning.
“A lot of very unhealthy food is affordable,” Roberts said. “Produce can be expensive. Some of the healthiest foods are the most expensive.”
Southern Illinois farmers grow a lot of food to sell to grocery stores, but that food has to be nearly perfect. Roberts said they don’t want vegetables or fruit with blemishes, also called seconds. Food pantries and soup kitchens welcome those seconds.
