Feeding America West Michigan | Volunteer and Food Distribution Center

Feeding America West Michigan (FAWM) is a nonprofit organization that serves the greater Grand Rapids area and much of the western half of Michigan by providing meals to families and individuals who are in need. Given the quantity and locations of communities served, FAWM’s existing facility was struggling to keep up with the volume of food while also operating in an undersized, inefficient workflow environment.

During the design phase, careful analysis of spatial adjacencies, size, and future expansion was performed through a series of interactive workshops with several FAWM focus groups. Through these workshops, a new facility was realized that provides for a larger volume of climate-controlled warehouse and processing space, as well as efficient workflows and spatial adjacencies that reduce the food processing time. The spatial analysis also included a volumetric spatial storage study of the food inventory, based on industry standards, for the best and highest use of palletized storage space for food commodities.

The final program includes an office suite, food reclamation space, a multi-purpose room for volunteers, a demonstration kitchen, warehouse space, and cooler/freezer storage space. The addition of the demonstration kitchen provides a new educational resource to the community with presentations and tutorials on how to maximize food resources.