Anyone who ever visited ShareNet and took a serious look around knew we worked with some pretty serious space constraints.  This was true almost from the start of occupying our site (26061 United Road  NE, off Bond behind Joe’s Automotive) in 2007. We quickly filled the space to capacity.

It became painfully clear as the number of clients we served tripled over the next three years, then nearly doubled from 2010-11. Staff and volunteers graciously managed this new growth, though it meant a lot of logistical and storage headaches. It may not have been convenient but it inspired great teamwork and movements that almost had to be choreographed.

In 2012, ShareNet’s board took on a study and research project of what alternatives were available, and what a new space for ShareNet might look like. After much consideration, board members Bernard Delettrez and Dave Henden negotiated for new space adjacent to our existing space, making the transition easier than moving to a new site.

In February, framing began on a large new room carved out of Swift Plumbing’s warehouse, on the other side of a previously shared wall. Weeks later, a double door was punched out and the new space was joined to our old one. A lot of the work was hands on by Bernie and friends he enlisted to help.

Our thrift store’s donation processors had worked in an especially cramped space. A wall which had provided a partial divider between the store and the food bank came down, removed to enlarge their area. When that wall came down, it was more obvious than ever what a tiny space they had worked in, pejoratively nicknamed “the hallway.” That project remains in progress, but the “the hallway” will at least be doubled, carved from part of the food bank’s old space. Two washer/dryer units which had cramped their activities have also been moved.

Staff and volunteers are learning how to best utilize all the new space. Volunteers have said they might “need roller skates” and they might “lose a few pounds” navigating the extra square footage, but we know from experience the new space will be quickly filled as we find uses for every square inch.

We now have the capacity to maintain a larger, more efficient food stock. Food box packers, workers repackaging bulk items, and packers for special programs such as our Food to Grow On program for school kids will now have some room to spread out.

Change is hard, but growth directed with the community we serve in mind benefits all of us.  We are deeply grateful that community support made the expansion possible.

— Mark Ince is executive director of ShareNet. Contact him at sharenetdirector@centurytel.net.