BOOTHEEL FOOD BANK TO RELOCATE TO CAPE GIRARDEAU

Sikeston based, Bootheel Food Bank will move their main operations office and warehouse to Cape Girardeau, according to Executive Director, Karen Green. Presently located in leased facilities at 104 Keystone Drive in Sikeston, the agency distributes food to a network of 140 not-for-profit hunger relief agencies in 16 counties of Southeast Missouri.

Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place, Ltd. in Cape Girardeau, who handled the real estate transaction, confirmed the Food Bank had contracted for a 25,700 square foot building located on 3.6 acres at 3920 Nash Road in Cape Girardeau, directly west of the I-55 Airport Exit interchange.  The building, initially being leased with a purchase arrangement will give the Food Bank 5,640 square feet of operations offices and another 20,600 square-feet of warehouse area.  The building is owned by the Jerry Lipps family.

The area agency is a partner member with America's Second Harvest, a national organization that is the largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the country addressing the problem of domestic hunger. Nationally, they distribute more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually to more than 25 million hungry people in the United States, including 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.  Sources of food and related products come from national and local donors as well as United States government programs.

The Bootheel Food Bank annually distributes over three and half million tons of food in their 16 county service area.  The board of directors decision to move the regional organization from Sikeston to Cape Girardeau was based on several factors, including the availability of a suitable facility, being located more central to the relief agencies they supply and the opportunity to be closer to volunteer workers and corporate food and related food product donors.

Kelsey said it was his understanding they would begin immediately moving into the new Cape facility that is ready for occupancy. The building was originally built by the Lipps family and formerly housed Capital Supply.  The open spanned industrial building with various loading docks and overhead doors would require very little modifications to accommodate the agency.