St. Vincent de Paul of Kenosha Renovation

6,000 Square Foot Expansion Planned for St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Kenosha
Report by Joe States of the Kenosha News - April 1, 2024 article

St. Vincent de Paul, 7531 30th Ave., is looking to add nearly 6,000 square feet to its existing facility, tripling the food pantry size.

St. Vincent leadership said the expansion has been their long-term plan for over a decade, and will allow them to grow their nonprofit work in the area community. Related items went before the City Plan Commission last Thursday. Improvements include adding 5,932 square feet to the back of the building, adding a truck dock for donation drop offs, expanding the building’s sales area, as well as cosmetic upgrades to the main entrance.

St. Vincent De Paul President Ginger Karaway and store manager Lisa Roberts said the improvements will greatly increase their food pantry efforts.

“Unfortunately right now with our pantry size and hours we’ve had to turn people away,” Roberts said.

Currently, they serve about 34 families a day and go through about 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of food a week. That could increase to 50 families a day and add an additional 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of food a week with the expansion.

Karaway said they’ve been planning the expansion since they moved to the new building 12 years ago. As they’ve seen the need in the community “skyrocket,” they have to grow to meet it.

“We needed to expand the food pantry to continue our mission,” Karaway said.

Roberts said they hope to break ground this fall, with roughly six to eight months of build out planned. The project is expected to cost roughly $2 million, adding 50 feet to the back of the building.

“It’s enabling us to be open longer and serve more families in the community,” Roberts said. “We’re limited in space so we turn away donations sometimes.”

The new truck dock will speed up the unloading of the trucks, a process that is “lengthy and difficult” right now, she indicated.

“This is a really exciting process for us, it’s really a wonderful opportunity for us to grow,” Roberts said. “It’s been wonderful to be a part of this.”