Sharing & Caring to expand its food bank in Fort Walton Beach
FORT WALTON BEACH — During the next week or so, a large Southern magnolia tree and pine tree are set to be removed to make room for an expansion of the Sharing & Caring emergency food bank at 126 Beal Parkway S.W.
“Our pantry will quadruple in size with the expansion,” Ken Winzeler, president of the nonprofit Sharing & Caring of Okaloosa County Inc., said Thursday after the project’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The project also will include the addition of a room dedicated for prescription interviews, a larger lobby area and upgrades to the food bank’s entrance, walkways and client restroom, according to information from the organization.
'Not lip service': Fort Walton Beach 'actively pursuing' affordable housing options
Winzeler said the job is anticipated to take about eight months. Sharing & Caring officials have a $104,500 grant from Impact100 of Northwest Florida Inc. to help pay for the project.
The agency also has funding donated by the John Pettengill Trust, which did not want its contribution amount disclosed. The trust’s initial donation to Sharing & Caring was instrumental in establishing the organization’s drug prescription program.
“This is a big and exciting event for Sharing & Caring,” Winzeler told some of his fellow volunteer board members, volunteer staff members and other supporters shortly before the groundbreaking.
Planning for the expansion began about 18 months ago, said Winzeler, who began volunteering with the agency 11 years ago.
Sharing & Caring started serving the Fort Walton Beach community in 1985. The organization later opened nonprofit food banks in Niceville and Crestview.
Originally established in a building donated by the First Baptist Church of Fort Walton Beach, the agency’s Fort Walton Beach pantry was relocated to its current site on Beal Parkway in 1992.
The agency’s existing 1,485-square-foot building was leased from the First Presbyterian Church and was extensively renovated by volunteers who used donations from the community, according to information from the organization.
In 2021, Sharing & Caring purchased the building and property with hopes of expanding its 409-square-foot pantry.
Because of the pantry’s tiny space, much donated food must be stored in a shed and in a Sunday School room at First Presbyterian Church next door, Winzeler said.
He said Sharing & Caring provided food to about 9,000 people last year from the agency’s Fort Walton Beach location. Half of the food that’s provided is donated by the community and half is purchased by the agency.
In addition, Sharing & Caring provides thousands of clients with personal care items and hundreds of clients with prescription vouchers each year.
The expansion project will enable the agency to serve even more needy individuals and families.
Retired Air Force veteran Herb Mason Jr. said Thursday that he began volunteering at the Sharing & Caring facility in Fort Walton Beach more than four years ago. He was appointed to the organization’s board last year.
“It makes me feel good to see this,” Mason said of the expansion becoming a reality. “We have to do this to help more folks.”
JDF Architecture of Fort Walton Beach designed the expansion, which will be built by Crowson Construction Services of Fort Walton Beach.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Sharing & Caring of Okaloosa County Inc. embarks on food bank expansion
