The new warehouse at the Samaritan Center is nearing completion.
Center organizers hope the 4,700-square-foot addition to the center on East McCarty Street would be done sometime in March. It may not quite be ready by then, but it's getting close, Operations Manager Ben DeFeo said.
The warehouse, an engineered steel structure being paid for by an anonymous donor, is a little larger than 60 feet by 70 feet. However, the size of the footprint doesn't entirely illustrate the volume the new structure allows the nonprofit to use for storage.
The ceilings in the existing warehouse were much lower. They didn't allow pallets of items to be stacked, while the addition's high ceilings allow for pallets to be stacked three-high.
The addition will eliminate space needs that have at times stymied the center's work.
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.
"When they built the existing building, they were serving 20-30 people per day through the food pantry," DeFeo said. "Now it's about 80 people per day."
The additional space will allow the center to store more items that are seasonal, DeFeo said.
The addition includes an entrance to the center housed within a vestibule that will allow a receptionist to communicate with visitors and to buzz them in.
The additional space allows for better and centralized storage and the ability to buy more bulk food items when they are available at discount prices. It also will allow the organization to accept more donations it might have declined in the past because of a lack of space.
"The volume of people - the volume of food - coming and going," DeFeo said. "This will allow us to serve (the community) more efficiently."