Lansing Food Organizations Join Forces in 5,000 Sq Ft North Lansing Space

The Greater Lansing Food Bank, the Garden Project and Food Movers all once had offices scattered around in various sites around Lansing. In an effort to get all three programs under one roof and to improve communication between them, they now share a single office space in north Lansing.

The Food Bank and Garden Project spent 10 years sharing offices in the Ingham County Health Department building in South Lansing, while Food Movers was at the corner of Pennsylvania and Grand River avenues.

The new building is about 5,000 square feet of office and warehouse space and allows the programs more flexibility and efficiency in labor, says food bank Director Terry Link.
Employees are still getting settled at the new facility, 919 Filley St., but plan to host an open house in June.

“We used to be scattered—now we are all in one place,” he says. “This makes us more efficient and effective.”

There was a roughly 50 percent increase in the number of Lansing community gardens last year, led primarily by efforts from the Garden Project. Last year there were 45; this year there are 70.

There is also conversation about redeveloping larger plots to make them more like urban farms. All of this is part of the Greater Lansing Food Bank’s efforts to bring more healthier, local foods to those in need, says Link.

Source: Terry Link

Writer: Andy Balaskovitz