QUILCENE — The Jefferson County Food Bank Association broke ground this month on an expanded facility to serve residents of Quilcene.

The project is expected to be completed by August, according to Deisy Bach, vice president of the food bank association.

The food bank now supports about 350 families per week with a grocery-style system that allows patrons to select the foods they want.

Letting people select food themselves, in addition to being more dignified, reduces food waste from patrons discarding prepackaged food items they don’t want, according to Leslie Tippins, the Quilcene Food Bank manager, in a press release.

The new facility will be located at 161 Herbert St., in the heart of Quilcene, about a quarter of a mile from the current location within the Quilcene Community Center.

“The existing facility is too small, with no heat or air conditioner in the food storage area, and we have limited parking,” Tippins said.

“The pandemic also brought to light the fact that we need additional storage to store extra food in case of an emergency.”

The new facility will have about 4,500 square feet divided between space for storage and space for distribution.

Having dedicated spaces for the different functions will save staff time that is currently spent setting up tables in the community center, bringing food from the outside storage spaces and taking leftover food back out to the storage spaces after the food bank closes.

The new facility has been envisioned for at least six or seven years, Bach said.

Ann Kittredge, a food bank association board member, said one of the challenges was finding a property with existing water rights, since obtaining new water rights in that part of Jefferson County is difficult.

Bach added that the food bank association has been saving for this project, but donations from the public are still appreciated.

Donations can be made online at www.jeffersoncountyfoodbanks.org or by sending a check to P.O. Box 124, Port Hadlock, WA 98339, with “Quilcene Building” written in the memo section.