The Human Resource Development Council’s CEO Heather Grenier address a crowd assembled outside HRDC’s new Market Place facility for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Human Resource Development Council’s director of food and nutrition, Jill Holder, and development director, Kristin Hamburg talk to a crowd assembled for a ribbon cutting ceremony at HRDC’s new Market Place building on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Human Resource Development Council’s CEO Heather Grenier, right, accepts a bouquet of flowers for her work outside the HRDC’s new Market Place facility on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Human Resource Development Council’s CEO Heather Grenier address a crowd assembled outside HRDC’s new Market Place facility for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Human Resource Development Council’s director of food and nutrition, Jill Holder, and development director, Kristin Hamburg talk to a crowd assembled for a ribbon cutting ceremony at HRDC’s new Market Place building on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Human Resource Development Council’s CEO Heather Grenier, right, accepts a bouquet of flowers for her work outside the HRDC’s new Market Place facility on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
In the build-up to constructing a new food resources center, Human Resources Development Council staff gave countless tours of their old, overstressed facilities to show people the need for a new building.
There was always a “story of the day” to share, HRDC’s Food and Nutrition Director Jill Holder said during a ribbon cutting for their new facility Thursday, some personal experience a client had shared with them about why they were seeking out help.
As they were setting up for the ribbon-cutting, HRDC’s Development Director Kristin Hamburg saw one of those stories. A couple came into the new Marketplace building on Griffin Drive, which houses the Fork and Spoon pay-what-you-can restaurant, the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and other services.
A staff member met the couple at the front desk and led them over to the food bank market. As she did so, Hamburg saw the man turn to his partner and say: “They are kind, and we are safe.”
“That’s exactly what we wanted to do with this building, is make people feel welcome,” Hamburg said.
Mitch Bradley, a member of HRDC’s board and the former owner of the Heebs Fresh Market, spoke about how much work it took to get the building operational. Using his grocer experience, Bradley helped with setting up the food bank’s market.
He said their goal was to make it comfortable for HRDC clients.
“We wanted them to feel at peace, and feel good about being there,” Bradley said. ”I think this building has done so much more than we thought it was going to be able to do. I think we’re going to discover even more of that, or just be able to serve those people, their needs, even better.”
The building officially opened in December, but HRDC CEO Heather Grenier said they wanted to wait a few months to have a ribbon cutting to get all the kinks all worked out.
She’s glad they did, they’ve dealt with a leak in the roof and frozen pipes so far this winter, but Grenier said the building has been functioning well. They are seeing higher numbers of people seeking out Fork and Spoon and the food bank.
“This facility marks a lot of new opportunities for us in food production, food rescue, innovative partnerships, nutrition programming, connecting people to more services faster,” Grenier said Thursday. “Because we know the sooner we wrap services around folks, the closer we get them back on their feet and really just making a greater impact in our community.”
The $16.5 million building was a huge undertaking for HRDC, Grenier said, and required extensive community support. Now, the organization is turning its attention to building a new homeless shelter next door.
Called Homeward Point, groundwork on the project began in the fall, and Grenier said they are hoping to begin vertical construction soon. They have about $2 million left to raise, Grenier said.
“We’re just so excited about the opportunities here,” Grenier said.
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