A donor who wishes to remain anonymous is adding to the warehouse at the Samaritan Center.
Earlier this year, the donor asked what the center needed to make storage options more efficient.
What it needed was more space to eliminate the occasional need to rent a truck to move things around, Samaritan Center operations manager Ben DeFeo said.
"A lot of our space in general was not designed for what it's used for," DeFeo said. "Things get crammed and tucked and multi-tasked a lot."
The center at one time was housed in the old convent at Immaculate Conception Church (now the Incarnate Word Building), which it outgrew. In 1999, donations, government credits and fundraisers allowed organizers to build a new center debt-free at the current location, 1310 E. McCarty St. However, the need continued to grow.
Crowding in the warehouse prevents easy movement of pallets of food products. Also, when products are moved around or unloaded, volunteers have to be roped off to keep them out of danger. On any given day, there are up to 50 volunteers who work at the center.
DeFeo said he does not know what the addition will cost - the donor is working directly with the contractor who is building the structure.
The Samaritan Center serves as a food pantry and offers seasonal clothing, blankets and household items for members of the community. It provides free medical and dental services for people without Medicaid or other insurance. The free medical clinic is open 4-5:30 p.m. Thursdays. Dental clinic services are available by appointment only. Clients are asked to come during pantry hours - 9:30-11 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 4-5:30 p.m. Thursdays - to make appointments.
The new addition, which will connect to the existing warehouse, will be approximately 60 by 70 feet, DeFeo said. It will consist entirely of warehouse space.
The building will be a 4,700-square-foot pre-engineered metal structure, according to a Jefferson City building permit issued Sept. 4.
The additional space will allow for better and centralized storage and the ability to buy more bulk food items when they are available at discount prices. It will also allow the organization to accept more donations it might have declined in the past because of a lack of space, DeFeo said.
It is taller than the existing structure and will allow the organization to stack pallets. The ability to stack items vertically was an emphasis for the new building, DeFeo said.
The Samaritan Center already has a forklift capable of stacking items higher, so it will not have to purchase new equipment to take advantage of the taller building.
Contractor Loethen Construction Inc. began clearing land for the warehouse earlier this week.
"The cost of the construction is covered entirely through the donation dedicated for it and does not impact any other donations made to Samaritan Center," DeFeo said.
The expansion will make the space safer and more convenient for volunteers. During the course of a year, 500-600 people volunteer. A few provide services outside the center. Some days (typically Thursdays), the center has two shifts of volunteers through the day.
Students with special needs regularly come to the warehouse to break down bulk packages of items into smaller packages. The students are usually stuck in a corner - out of the way of where equipment is moving in the warehouse.
"This will allow more open floor space and a more permanent work space," DeFeo said. "We won't have to rope people off if we're moving equipment around during the day."
The increase in space will allow the center to set up a permanent clothing receiving and sorting area. Currently, that work is done in the middle of the warehouse.
"(The expansion) is something we've talked about doing in the past," DeFeo said. "The timing of it - with the economy - just never lined up for us."