Jewish Family Services (JFS) recently announced that a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Raytown, Missouri, will soon serve as a distribution center for its Food Pantry operations.
JFS Executive Director Angela DeWilde told The Chronicle this will help the organization achieve its end goal of increasing its food distribution capacity from 300,000 pounds per year to more than 2 million.
The idea to expand JFS’ food access initiatives started years ago as existing storage neared capacity. JFS decided that increased food storage and distribution capabilities would be the most cost-effective way to make the biggest impact. Unlike the existing JFS food pantries, the warehouse will serve solely as a distribution center and will not be client-facing nor a food pantry in itself. It will be run by a new JFS worker and volunteers.
The search for a warehouse started early this year, with proximity to both JFS Food Pantry locations — one in the Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, and the other at the Jewish Community Campus in Overland Park, Kansas — being a priority.
“We were looking across the Kansas City Metro Area,” DeWilde said. “The closer to our food pantries, the better. I must say, the search for a warehouse was more difficult than we anticipated.”
Despite the difficulty, JFS found a warehouse in Raytown that fit its needs perfectly. Located near Congregation Beth Shalom’s Mt. Carmel Cemetery, it is only about 20 minutes away from both Food Pantry locations. The building meets all of JFS’ requirements, and its landlord was pleased to learn which organization would occupy it.
“The landlord was extremely easy to work with and very motivated to lease to a nonprofit, just to do good in the world alongside us,” DeWilde said. “The space is larger than we were originally looking at because the landlord was able to reduce rent once he understood what we were going to use the space for.”
The space is so large that JFS will have extra room. To best serve those in need, JFS hopes to partner with food pantries and organizations big and small, including Harvesters, Kanbe’s Markets and KC Shepherd’s Center, utilizing the warehouse to maximize impact across the Kansas City Metro. It will also help JFS’ partnership with Jewish Vocational Service, to which it provides monthly boxes of food to refugees who have recently immigrated to the United States.
JFS estimates the warehouse will be operational by the fall. Some food is already stored there, but JFS is still working on installing refrigeration and freezer units, shelving and other necessary equipment. A welcoming volunteer room is also planned alongside the preexisting office area.
Part of the $1 million raised at JFS’ recent 125th Anniversary Celebration will be used for the distribution center.
“Due to the immense generosity [at the celebration], we are able to make decisions about purchasing equipment and getting the space operational,” DeWilde said. “That was instrumental to what we are able to move forward on.”
More information on the distribution center will be announced by JFS in the coming months via their website (jfskc.org) and social media pages. Questions can be directed to .
