Since the Ella Curran Food Bank was founded in 1978, it has moved about nine times between rented spaces in Independence.

After the nonprofit was forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to improvise by handing out boxes of food in the Independence Cinema parking lot in 2020 and 2021, officials recognized the need for a permanent location.

Now the food bank is engaged in a campaign to raise more than $4 million so that a new building can be constructed.

The need for food assistance in Polk County has increased in recent years as more of its residents qualify for and enroll in federal assistance programs. The food bank has done what it can to meet the growing need but can do only so much in its current space.

With timely funding and smooth construction, the Ella Curran Food Bank’s new home could be completed in a year, according to the organization’s director, Patty Nevue. In the meantime, a record number of people are offering help.

“Our emphasis is having a lot of food for people,” she said. “So, our emphasis is when recurring donations are coming in and people are donating and it’s not designated, it’s going to food.

“When somebody designates it for the new building, it goes there.”

The food bank, which is located at 870 N. Main St. in Independence, is open 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 4 to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The food bank was founded in memory of Ella Curran in 1978. She moved to Independence in about 1967 and worked as a counselor for Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action until her death in 1977. She was 48. She kept food in her car trunk to give to people who requested assistance.

The current food bank occupies about 2,500 square feet of the former Amador’s Alley restaurant. There is only enough space to let a few clients enter at one time. Others must stand outside the large windows in front and direct volunteers inside to what they want by pointing. The food they select is then brought out to them.

“If we had people come in here it would get pretty crowded,” Nevue said. “We go out and visit with people, too.”

Ella Curran Food Bank, like most others in the area, receives shipments from Marion Polk Food Share. The limited space makes it difficult for the food bank to serve the increasing number of people in need. The need for a larger, permanent location has never been greater, volunteers said.

“Of course, if we’re renting, donated dollars are paying our rent and the rest goes to food,” Nevue said.

The need for food assistance in Polk County has grown in recent years. The Ella Curran Food Bank had over 12,000 visits in 2025. In 2021, it had slightly more than 3,000 visits, according to statistics compiled by food bank leaders. The food bank primarily serves people from Independence or Monmouth (64 percent), but others (29 percent) who are undefined.

While the poverty rate has remained consistent during the past four years, according to U.S. Census data, enrollment in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has steadily increased in that time. About 17 percent of the county’s residents received those benefits in 2020 while nearly 20 percent did in 2024.

In 2025, the food bank gave 552 families complete supplies for a Thanksgiving dinner at a drive-thru giveaway in Riverview Park in Independence. The organization also provides food to pantries at schools and other locations. And it provides bags of food for families when schools are closed.

“We’re just trying to minimize any barriers to getting food,” Nevue said.

The plan is for the food bank to relocate to the corner of Hoffman Road and Airport Road in Independence. As designed, the 7,000-square-foot building would include a supermarket-style shopping area, a meeting room with a demonstration kitchen, an outdoor (covered) market area, a staff room, a large delivery and sorting area, and a walk-in freezer and refrigerator.

The 2.1-acre lot was donated by Judith and Jack Fox to the Oregon Community Foundation. That land was donated to the Ella Curran Food Bank in 2024.

The food bank in 2023 received $775,000 from the federal government to pay for site work.

“We’ve had to do all the water and the electrical and the gas lines and put in a water retention swale,” Nevue said.

The Ella Curran Food Bank received its first grant of $100,000 from Neighbors Helping Neighbors in 2022. The nonprofit has since received $1 million from the state Legislature in 2022 and then $690,000 more in 2023.

Nevue said the food bank also received donations from the Central Lions Club ($100,000), Willamette Health Council ($100,000), the Lee H. and Marion B. Thompson Foundation ($500,000), the Maps Community Foundation ($50,000), the Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust ($50,000), and the Ford Family Foundation ($20,000). Community members and others have contributed around $277,000, Nevue said.

“We’re really close,” she said. “This adds up. We have money available, but we’re committed to not breaking ground until we’ve funded the whole thing. I feel nervous; I don’t want to break ground and be still asking for donations. I don’t feel that’s appropriate.”

Individuals and organizations can donate to the project by visiting .

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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