Food Bank expands to Cape Girardeau County

Southeast Missouri Food Bank has purchased a building in Jackson and will expand its operations to Cape Girardeau County by mid-summer, said Joey Keys, the food bank's executive director since 2018.

Keys said the 72,000-square-foot headquarters and warehouse will remain in Scott County but the not-for-profit saw it needed a second location to the north.

"We recognized during the pandemic and with disasters we've had recently that we have to act on a moment's notice — and needed a presence in our northern service area," said Keys, who added SEMO Food Bank is responsible for 16 counties.

The newly acquired 18,500-square-foot building, at 4536 E. Jackson Blvd., formerly housed Sappington Pro Outdoor.

"It's a high-visibility location, easily accessible and a good spot to attract volunteers who can help our operations with packing boxes and sorting disaster supplies such as water and food," he said.

Keys said as many as three full-time staff will be assigned to Jackson and he refers to the new location as SEMO Food Bank North.

"There are some cosmetic upgrades we'll be doing to the building, getting the warehouse space cleaned and ready to go, but nothing major structurally needs to be done," he said. "Mainly we need additional space for the ability to respond to need more quickly. When COVID hit, we found supply-chain issues and we do have smaller-scale disasters frequently."

The additional venue in Jackson represents a return to Cape Girardeau County.

Eight years ago, SEMO Food Bank left a building on Nash Road and returned to the Sikeston area.

Keys said the food bank helps more than 70,000 people per month on average.

The director said the last two to three years have been challenging financially.

"We're spending about three times more on food now. With costs rising, everyone's dollar is getting stretched thin but we're fortunate to have generous donors," he said.

Keys said the food bank is active in soliciting grants.

"We received a grant focusing on senior hunger and we've really worked on community engagement, trying to be more visible to the public."

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