Funds raised will go toward the construction of a new 19,000 square-foot food storage warehouse.

“We can no longer postpone the need for a new warehouse,” Poverello House Executive Director Cruz Avila said.

The current warehouse, Avila said, was built in 1945 and was used as a storage space for salvaged auto parts before Poverello House took it over. Over the years, it has fallen into disrepair, with a rotting wood frame and leaky roof.

The new warehouse will feature an all-metal, insulated building; on-site commercial-grade refrigeration and freezer units; ample space for two-way industry-standard forklift traffic; new rack and shelving units; turnaround space for large tractor-trailer deliveries and donations, and an easily accessible public donation drop-off point.

Avila said the warehouse project is vital, as the Poverello House serves 1,600 hot meals a day and supplies food to many other non-profit organizations. The lack of usable storage space and proper insulation and temperature extremes in the current warehouse are making it a challenge to meet that mission.

In addition to the food warehouse, an aging men’s warehouse building will be demolished to make room for a new trailer that will house the organization’s new Multi-agency Access Program (MAP) Point, which links clients with housing programs and behavioral, social and health care. A permanent restroom facility for those staying in Poverello’s Village of Hope and Community of Hope will also be constructed.

Construction is set to begin March 1 and be completed by October 2017.

To donate to the campaign visit www.poverellohouse.org/RTR