A Washington state food bank is finally able to move into the location they’ve been seeking to revamp since 2020 thanks to the generosity of an anonymous businessman who donated $800,000 to the cause.
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According to King 5 News, the Auburn Food Bank has been struggling to keep up with the city’s growing demands for years. The population has grown by over 30,000 people throughout the course of the past few decades.
In early 2020, before the pandemic, the Auburn Food Bank was preparing to move into a new space to better serve the community. The organization paid more than $1.5 million to obtain a new location but ran out of money before they could fully renovate and move in.
Debbie Christian, executive director of the Auburn Food Bank, noted this left the charity with “a large debt in our lap, it was $800,000.”
“Labor went up, you know, lumber goes up, cement problems happen, we had to put in an extra fire hydrant outside,” she added.
On Monday, a young woman called the Auburn Food Bank on behalf of a businessman who was feeling generous after learning of their struggles.
Christian said, “She had a bunch of questions to ask about what we were doing, and where we were going, and why did I need $800,000.”
“She said, well, he’s gonna do it all … and it’s just like, you run out of words right there,” she went on.
Christian also added that the donor is a “very private company, really don’t want attention.”
“It’s a goodhearted person that just wants to see the work here continue, wants to see it expand,” she added.
“We got our Christmas miracle at Thanksgiving,” Christian declared.
Christian has been helping at the Auburn Food Bank for 17 years and noted, “I can really see the end of the tunnel.”