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Kids Food Basket hosts ribbon cutting ceremony

Their new headquarters is at the former Centennial Farm on Leonard Street.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kids Food Basket held the ribbon cutting for its new headquarters Thursday. 

The 27,000-square-foot building, located at 1919 Leonard St., features a warehouse, corporate offices, greenhouses and workshop/classroom space. 

The founding CEO Bridget Whitney Clark said the new space gives kids the opportunity to learn where food comes from and how to make life-long healthy food choices. 

The project was designed and built to the highest "green standards," and the building has:

  • On-site recycling programs
  • Waste diversion systems
  • High-efficiency building insulation systems
  • Heating/cooling systems
  • Plumbing systems
  • Low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paints, adhesives, and floor coverings

It will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified now that the building is complete. 

According to a press release from Orion Construction, the project was completed on time and within budget. 

RELATED: Kids’ Food Basket expands services to Allegan County after $130K donation

Kids Food Basket made the decision to have its new facility built within the LEED framework not only to support the organization's sustainability initiatives, but also as a message to the community as their mission evolves to encompass an environmental/food system component. 

Kids Food Basket serves more than 7,500 students at more than 40 sites in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. 

Kids Food Basket has more information about expansion plans and childhood hunger, which affects one in five Michigan children, on its website.

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