Westmoreland Food Bank breaks ground on multimillion-dollar expansion

The Westmoreland Food Bank served about 5 million meals in 2024.

And while officials are hoping the overall demand will decrease, their ability to fulfill that need will be expanding soon, along with their building on Devonshire Drive in Salem.

Work on the planned expansion kicked off Thursday morning.

“It’s been almost three years to get to this point,” said director Jennifer Miller. Expansion planning began in 2018 with a feasibility study, but the project was derailed by the covid-19 pandemic.

Combining $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan funding with $800,000 in additional federal dollars, the expansion will upgrade the food bank’s refrigeration capacity, create a larger workspace for volunteers and add an on-site food pantry.

“The refrigeration upgrade in particular will be critical to our daily work, and it’ll enable us to better serve our neighbors in need,” Miller said. “Expanding our cooler is desperately needed, so we can get more food, more fresh produce, into the mouths of people who need it here in Westmoreland County.”

County Commissioner Sean Kertes praised the distribution of American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security funding, which helped pave the way for the project.

“Instead of looking at budgets, ARP and CARES funding allowed us to look at what we could do for the county at-large,” Kertes said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what your political affiliation is — we want to try and ensure a healthy quality of life for all residents in our county.”

Following the groundbreaking, Miller said she anticipates construction to begin within 30 days.

“The project has to be done by the end of 2026, but we’re hoping it will be done before then,” she said.

Miller said she anticipates more food bank clients on the heels of the federal government eliminating the Emergency Food Assistance Program and planning to cut funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes referred to as food stamps.

“We know the number of people we serve is going to go up,” she said. “We have about 5,000 very dedicated volunteers who help us feed about 10,000 households each month. But volunteers are always needed, and food and monetary donations are a big part of making sure that can happen.”

County Commissioner Doug Chew said he ran into a former high school classmate recently and, during the course of their discussion, discovered they were food bank clients.

“I don’t think any of us realize just how often we pass someone who uses the food bank’s services,” Chew said. “We’re very lucky to have this service here in Westmoreland County.”