Overpass will change or displace food bank

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Andy Buckband unloads food behind F.O.R. Maricopa, a food bank which may or may not be in the path of a planned overpass.

“We have to get prepared for what the future looks like for us.”

When Wendy Webb talks about the plans of F.O.R. Maricopa, the founder and director of the food bank has to use a lot of question marks. The pending railroad overpass on State Route 347 is a big part of that uncertainty.

Webb does not know if F.O.R. (Food, Opportunity and Resources) Maricopa will have to move or will simply have its access changed dramatically. Relocation seems highly likely, and the nonprofit’s board is looking at options.

F.O.R. Maricopa has a 10-year lease with Pinal County for the building it occupies at 44625 W. Garvey next to Maricopa Fire District administration buildings, the Park & Ride parking lot and a county air-quality monitor.

It is also next to John Wayne Parkway. The building was a sheriff’s office substation and jail before Maricopa incorporated. F.O.R. Maricopa put about $100,000 into the building to fit its needs.

“My understanding is that they do have to help get you into something similar that you can afford,” Webb said. “There doesn’t appear to exist anything like that that I’m aware of.”

Webb asked former mayor Kelly Anderson, who recently finished his tenure on the State Transportation Board, to try to get more recent estimates from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

“So far, it’s still pretty general because the plan is in flux,” she said.
FOR-maricopa
In their design for the overpass, ADOT engineers are working off a so-called Alternative H approach while trying to avoid as many businesses and homes as possible. A most recent concept shows the MFD buildings being spared along with the food bank.

“We still have to have business access, so I think that might be one of our biggest challenges,” Webb said. “If we are saved, how do you get to us?”

ADOT personnel called Webb to discuss the organization’s needs. “We’ve spoken in generic terms,” she said. “We don’t really know. I don’t think anybody knows. I think it probably changes weekly.”

Despite the uncertainty, F.O.R. Maricopa is looking at options in case it has to move.

“We’ve been out there looking for land,” Webb said. “We found on the back side of McDavid behind the high school there is some property there that is really not that far out for us and it’s owned by some investors. So we did talk to two investors to see if they would be willing to parcel out three acres for us so we would have enough room for parking. They said they were open to discussions.”

The board is also looking into land that could become available as a result of construction work at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino, owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

“They’re trying to figure out what they don’t need in the future and would that be something they could give us for a temporary place to live until we could afford to build or whatever,” Webb said. “We’re still working with them to see what they think they’ll have available. It was a lovely surprise. I had no idea.”

F.O.R. Maricopa is not banking on either of those possibilities. But Webb has confidence the food bank’s most reliable supporters will step up to help once a plan is finally in place.

“We’re trying to come up with options to make the costs as low as possible in case there is no place for us to go,” Webb said.


This story appeared in the June issue of InMaricopa.

Executive Director Wendy Webb has been trying to find options if the food bank has to move.
Executive Director Wendy Webb has been trying to find options if the food bank has to move.