CLEVELAND — Wednesday marked a major milestone for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank (GCFB) in its nearly 45-year history of addressing hunger in the community.
GCFB held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Community Resource Center on South Waterloo Road. The center will serve as a one-stop shop for community members to access a healthy choice food pantry and connect with over a dozen social service partners, according to food bank officials.
The Community Resource Center includes a GCFB-managed, healthy-choice food market with extended hours of operation and access to free nutritious food for income eligible residents. In addition, GCFB staff will offer benefit application assistance and can facilitate referrals to other services or programs.
In its last fiscal year, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and their 1,000+ program partners across a 6-county service area served over 400,000 eligible, unduplicated people. The GCFB says the Community Resource Center will allow them to reach more income-eligible children, their families, senior citizens, and individuals with health challenges.
"The Community Resource Center is a space dedicated to addressing the deep, root causes of food insecurity – housing, healthcare, and employment – from all angles," the GCFB said in a release.
3News' Matt Rascon attended the grand opening festivities and anchored 3News at 4 live from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank's Community Resource Center. Watch his reporting below.
