West Texas Food Bank
- community
- Odessa, Texas
Project Scope
60,000 SF
Construction Type
New
Project Delivery Method
Design-Bid-Build
Project Components
Distribution and volunteer warehouse, staff offices, community kitchen, indoor playground, outdoor garden
Built to replace an aging and undersized facility, the new West Texas Food Bank Odessa Facility is sized to double both the amount of food distributed and the number of personalized client services offered. The WTFB also requested a low-maintenance yet high performing facility that was equally welcoming to their client as it was unique to West Texas.
The new facility includes a warehouse that will serve to collect, sort, process, store, and distribute millions of pounds of food a year. Volunteers have no worries about child care. A large playroom, a play structure, and a safety surface are provided for their children while they assist the food bank in sorting incoming donations. To serve the clients directly from this facility, a two-story building is attached to the warehouse. This building has a commercial demonstration kitchen and client pantry, as well as a community room used for educational purposes and meeting space. This facility also serves as the headquarters for the West Texas Food Bank. It includes executive offices and the West Texas Food Bank boardroom, which overlooks the demonstration kitchen from the second floor.
Recycled materials are unique features of this project. The facility harvests rainwater into an above-ground cistern, so the collected water can be used to water the vegetables in the raised garden planters. One of the building’s signature features is the color green, which represents both freshness and hope. The green is also used as a wayfinding device for visitors, and recycled green glass pieces were placed into the sealed concrete floors.
“The WTFB staff and leadership are visionaries with unwavering commitment to their community. Their excitement and persistence for this project was contagious. The stories behind the clients that they serve and our ability to improve their clients experience while accessing quality food were a constant source of inspiration throughout the process. Being a part of this project was a true blessing for Parkhill Smith & Cooper. We are committed to building community in our area and would be hard-pressed to find a community organization more in line with our commitment to the area than the WTFB.” — Project architect RJ Lopez
Project Feature: West Texas Food Bank from Parkhill on Vimeo
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Services Provided
Architecture, landscape architecture
Sustainability/LEED
Water Collection Tank