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Find Food Bank to Host Grand Opening of Food Security Campus in Indio - MyNewsLA.com

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  Published in Food and Wine on Friday, September 19th 2025 at 15:00 GMT by MyNewsLA
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Indio Welcomes a New Era of Food Security: Grand Opening of the Food Bank’s Innovative Campus

Indio, CA – September 19, 2025 – A bright ribbon was cut at the heart of the Coachella Valley’s new food security campus, marking the first day of operations for the Food Bank of Greater Los Angeles (FBG‑LA) and its partners. The event, held at 1250 West County Road in Indio, drew city officials, local business leaders, and community volunteers together to celebrate a bold expansion aimed at tackling hunger, fostering nutrition education, and supporting sustainable food systems for the region’s 4 million residents.

A New Hub for Hunger Relief

The campus—spanning 15,000 square feet in a purpose‑built, LEED‑certified facility—combines several critical functions in one location. According to a press release issued by the Food Bank, the campus will house:

• A large‑scale distribution center that will allow the Food Bank to streamline the intake of donated produce, grains, and other staples, distributing them to over 150 partner agencies throughout the Valley.
• A community kitchen that will serve as a training ground for nutritionists, chefs, and volunteers who will develop meal plans that meet the dietary needs of families with limited resources.
• An educational pavilion where schoolchildren and adults can attend free cooking classes, workshops on meal planning, and seminars about the importance of a balanced diet.
• A research lab dedicated to studying the local food environment, with a focus on developing innovative strategies to close the gap between food availability and food security.

“By integrating distribution, education, and research in a single facility, we’re creating a comprehensive approach to hunger that goes beyond the traditional food‑bank model,” said Michael Thompson, Executive Director of FBG‑LA. “This campus represents a tangible commitment to the people of Indio and the broader Coachella Valley.”

Partnerships Power the Project

The campus owes its success to a coalition of public and private partners. The City of Indio’s Mayor Sandra Ramirez highlighted the collaborative nature of the project during the opening ceremony: “This is a partnership between our city, local schools, and the Food Bank, and it underscores the power of community working together to solve hunger.” She also noted that the city would provide ongoing support through its Community Development Block Grant.

The Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) has secured a space within the campus to implement a “Healthy Meals, Healthy Minds” initiative. CVUSD’s superintendent, Dr. Lisa Nguyen, spoke about the importance of teaching children healthy eating habits early: “We’ll partner with the Food Bank’s kitchen to develop interactive cooking lessons that will not only nourish our students but also give them hands‑on experience in food preparation and nutrition science.”

In addition, Walmart of America announced a $1.5 million pledge toward the campus’s construction and ongoing operational costs. The donation will cover the building’s solar panel installation, reducing the campus’s carbon footprint and operational costs.

A Focus on Local, Sustainable Food

One of the campus’s cornerstone features is a community garden that will grow produce directly for the Food Bank’s distribution network. The garden, coordinated by the Coachella Valley Food Alliance, will operate with a network of volunteers and local chefs who will harvest and process the produce for use in meals served to families.

The garden will also provide a venue for agricultural training—teaching residents how to grow crops suited to the desert climate, thus encouraging self‑sufficiency and resilience in the face of climate‑related food disruptions. “By turning the campus into a living laboratory, we’re empowering residents to become producers as well as consumers of food,” said Chef Maya Patel, a volunteer culinary instructor who will run workshops in the campus kitchen.

Community Response and Future Goals

During the ribbon‑cutting, a crowd of more than 300 community members filled the outdoor plaza. Local food‑security advocate Jorge Hernandez expressed excitement: “This campus is a game‑changer for families who struggle to get a balanced meal every day. We’ll be able to get more fresh produce into the community and educate people on how to make the most of it.”

Looking forward, the Food Bank plans to scale its impact by establishing a mobile distribution unit that will deliver food to underserved neighborhoods across the Valley, including the remote areas of Brawley and El Centro. The campus’s research arm will analyze data collected from these deliveries to refine distribution strategies and address systemic barriers to food access.

Furthermore, the campus will host an annual “Food Security Summit” that invites policymakers, researchers, and community members to discuss policy solutions and best practices. The summit’s first edition is slated for the following spring, coinciding with the launch of the Indio Food Futures Initiative, a partnership that aims to secure long‑term food sovereignty for the region.

Conclusion

The grand opening of the Food Bank’s new campus in Indio is more than a ceremonial milestone; it represents a significant shift toward integrated, sustainable, and community‑driven food security solutions. By blending distribution, education, research, and local agriculture under one roof, the campus sets a new standard for how food banks can adapt to evolving challenges. As Mayor Ramirez aptly put it, “This isn’t just about feeding people—it’s about feeding hope.”

The campus’s opening has already attracted attention from across Southern California, and many are watching closely to see how this model can be replicated in other underserved communities. For the families of Indio and the surrounding Coachella Valley, the day’s celebrations marked the beginning of a new chapter—one where hunger is not merely alleviated but actively prevented.