Tenino council approves lease-and-option allowing local food bank to move into city-owned building amid funding cuts

The Tenino City Council on April 22 approved a lease-and-option-to-purchase agreement that gives the Tenino Community Service Center food bank a formal home and the option to buy the building it now occupies.

Food-bank representative Jody told the council the building is structurally sound but needs electrical upgrades, improved insulation and rodent-proofing before large freezers and refrigerators can be installed. "Our contractor has been in there, our electrician has been in there, our plumber has been in there. They feel this is something that they can actually work with," Jody said when asked about the site’s viability.

Jody and other board members described a sudden drop in outside support: "In the past, we have been getting about $5,000 a month from Northwest Harvest. This month it's going to be maybe a thousand," she said, adding that federal and regional commodity sources have diminished and that the center is legally required to serve people outside its immediate area because of how some programs are administered.

To address the gap, the food bank’s board voted to hire a professional fundraising firm that works on a percentage of funds raised and requires no upfront fee. Jody said the firm has recommended an aggressive fundraising campaign, including pursuing private foundations, to raise enough to buy the building outright if possible.

Councilmembers asked practical questions about power needs and operations. Jody described the donation items most useful to their clients—"easy open, dump-and-eat" foods for seniors and low-sugar options for children—and asked residents to consider individually packaged items that can be split between seniors and kids. George Sharp of the Thurston Economic Development Council said the EDC has reviewed the fundraising vendor and expects local foundations may be receptive "now that federal funding has gone away."

Carly, the food bank accountant who addressed council during public comment, provided a snapshot of need: "On the low end, we're serving about 1,400 people from our community every month. On the high end, we're serving almost 4,000 people in our community and surrounding areas every month," and said the center moves an estimated $875,000 worth of food through its doors each year.

The council voted to approve the lease-and-option-to-purchase after discussion in the work session; the motion passed with no roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript. The approval formalizes the food bank’s tenancy and allows staff and the nonprofit to continue planning electrical upgrades and fundraising needed to make the building fully operational.