ZGlobal commits $250K for IV Food Bank Capital Campaign
Thanks to a recent pledge from ZGlobal Power Engineering & Energy Solutions for $250,000, the Imperial Valley Food Bank has now raised more than $4 million in total toward its capital campaign to raise funds to open a new building that will meet its growing needs.
ZGlobal announced the donation pledge on Tuesday. The engineering and consulting firm will donate a quarter-million dollars to the food bank over five years to help their effort to fund the construction of a more modern and suitable facility that meets their needs. “We are extremely grateful to ZGlobal for their substantial support of the Imperial Valley Food Bank by contributing to our Capital Campaign,” said Executive Director of IVFB, Sara Griffen in a statement. “Their commitment to our mission, with this gift, shows that their commitment to engineering, efficiency and the proper use of clean energy extends beyond their business to helping the neediest people in our community.”
The goal for the food bank is to raise a total of $6 million to pay for the purchase of land and the construction of the building, which will be located at the Imperial Business Park near the intersection of Aten and La Brucherie roads.
The IVFB proposed 28,000 square feet is expected to greatly increase the food bank’s warehouse, refrigerator and freezer capacities to be able to store more food that is fresh and healthy, have modern loading docks to make the shipping and receiving of food much easier and will have easy access to public transportation.
Griffen added that when donors want to pledge a larger amount for any campaign, it’s normal to do it over a period of time as the companies may not have all the cash available in a single year.
“Everyone at ZGlobal is excited to be able to give back to the community and support the Imperial Valley Food Bank,” said Ziad Alaywan, president of ZGlobal. “We look forward to a long-lasting relationship in the fight against hunger within our community.”
With the latest donation, the food bank has raised more than 70 percent of its goal to fund the construction of the new building. The IVFB announced on Feb. 10 that they were ready to move into the open portion of the capital campaign as they secured the first half of funding needed.
The goal for the food bank is to raise the remaining monies by the end of 2017 as they hope to break ground by next January. Construction of the new facility is expected to take between six to eight months to complete.
As of now, Griffen said they’re in the hard part of the campaign where they have gotten pledges to cover most of the amount but still need to find additional interested parties to help them inch closer to the finish line. Griffen added that she is confident once they’re close to their goal there will be additional community members that will come out to help them get over the line.
The IVFB is the central distribution point of food in the Valley, they work with more than 100 agencies, schools and churches throughout Imperial County to help the residents who are enduring hunger and food insecurity.
In 2016, the food bank distributed more than 4 million pounds of food. The IVFB currently helps serves more than 20,000 residents in need, a number that has grown threefold in the last decade.
The food it distributes reaches the local schools as part of the weekend backpack program and it helps other organizations such as Catholic Charities and Neighborhood House to provide prepared meals for families.
The IVFB warehouse capacity will double, will have three times more refrigeration capacity and also their freezer capacity will increase 150 percent once they move into their new building.
“As always I plea to anyone that has questions or is interested in donating to our campaign to contact me at the IVFB,” Griffen said.
For more information call the IVFB at 760-3700966.