People who depend on the Salvation Army in Bay City for meals and help with other living expenses soon will find it easier to access the organization's services.
The
nonprofit organization, located in downtown Bay City, recently broke ground on a new $3 million, one-level facility that will sit behind the existing building on 10th Street near city hall. The new building is expected to open its doors after the first of the year.
Originally, the non-profit was planning to renovate the existing building, says Major Mike Myers. But during the number-crunching process, officials discovered it would be more cost-effective to build new. The current building has stairs that are difficult to navigate for elderly and handicapped residents. The new chapel also will be barrier free.
Residents will not experience any gap in services during the construction process, Myers says. And when the new building opens, there will be more seats at the table and more room in the kitchen. The current soup kitchen seats 50 people, but the new facility will seat 120. The larger facility will allow the Salvation Army to increase the meals it serves from four to six times a week.
The extra space is needed, too, Myers says. The soup kitchen serves about 17,000 meals a year to area residents -- or about 80 to 100 meals a day. By contrast, the soup kitchen was feeding about 13,000 a couple of years ago.
With job layoffs and challenging economic conditions, more area residents are turning to the Salvation Army for meals, financial assistance with utilities, rent, and other bills, Myers says.
"This new project will be a wonderful blessing to Bay City and Bay County."
Writer: Jenny Cromie
Source: Salvation Army of Bay City, Major Mike Myers
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