Hunger Fight, a Jacksonville nonprofit that aims to curb childhood hunger and illiteracy in the region, broke ground on January 19th for its new headquarters at 404 St. Johns Bluff Road N.
Hunger Fight recently purchased land and broke ground on the brand new 15,000 sq. ft warehouse that will provide the means to host events in-house and the space to store more of the raw ingredients required to produce its meals. The facility will comprise a 2,400-square-foot office and a 12,785-square-foot warehouse.
Hunger Fight bought the 2½-acre site for $665,000 on Nov. 14 through Porter Legacy LLC.
St. Johns 404 LLC is the seller.
The completion target date for the headquarters is October, said Dean Porter, vice president of operations for Hunger Fight. What does this mean for the communities served by Hunger Fight? More meals will be packed and distributed to those facing hunger and food insecurity and more books will be provided to preschoolers in low-income areas. Hunger Fight, which marked its 10th anniversary on November 8th, serves meals to elementary school students and provides preschool students with books in 16 counties in North Florida, including Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns, and in Lowndes County (Valdosta) in South Georgia, Porter said. Hunger Fight currently serves meals to more than 12,600 elementary children on weekends and provides age-appropriate books to more than 6,200 preschoolers monthly. Hunger Fight works with over 13 schools and backpack feeding programs to ensure meals are getting to those who need them.
His wife, Sherri Porter, is the organization’s CEO and founder. The new area is more efficient for trucks to maneuver in and out of while delivering ingredients and picking up meals to ship out. The new warehouse will not only have more square footage, but it will also have a ceiling that is “twice as high” and allows for more packing space as well, Porter said. The warehouse will be used to store ingredients, food, and equipment and host packing events.
