The Giving Plate food pantry hits the road this summer in its new red bus: the Kid’s Korner Mobile Pantry

(Update: Pahlisch Homes helping sponsor mobile pantry, others sought)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Giving Plate is Central Oregon's largest food pantry, serving over 3,500 people a month, 90% of who are housed, hard-working neighbors in the community, according to their website. And this summer, they are hitting the road across Central Oregon, to help keep hungry kids fed.

Starting next month, The Giving Plate will be driving around a propane-fueled red school bus one Saturday a month to La Pine, Redmond, Prineville and Madras, a total of four weekends.

The bus is called the Kid's Korner Mobile Pantry and will feature fruits and vegetables, snacks, oatmeal and other food items.

"We had an opportunity to take a small school bus that we have and we're going to turn it into a mobile Kids Korner. Then we'll take it to the streets," Giving Plate Executive Director Ranae Staley said Friday.

Staley later told supporters they have secured their first mobile pantry sponsor, Pahlisch Homes, and are looking for four more.

 The bus is just one of three major improvements on the horizon for The Giving Plate. They also plan to open a new distribution center and general store for their guests in the future.

For a while, The Giving Plate has been at their location on Third Street.

But early next year, they'll move to a larger space, the former Xcel Fitness Center in the Reed Lane Plaza at Third street and Reed Market Road. The new space will provide about 6,000 square feet.

"So instead of that being one location where we do everything like receiving, warehousing, front facing, serving the community. It's now our receiving spacing, and this place is our front facing where we'll serve the community" Staley told us.

She also says she wants the new location to feel more like a market. A coffee bar, kids store area, and other amenities will occupy the new space.

"It's not grocery store-size, but it will feel like a nice market for these people who we're serving to come in, and do their shopping at no cost to them," Staley explained.

The move to a bigger space comes amid greater need, as The Giving Plate has seen an increase in families who need their service.

After averaging about 85 families a day coming through their drive-thru for food, they now see about 110 families per day.

Because of the extra need for more food to hand out, The Giving Plate also plans on opening a new distribution center.

Dawn Cofer is a member of First Interstate Bank's Commitment to Community board, and advises Staley on business dealings with The Giving Plate.

Cofer says The Giving Plate owns the property where the new distribution center will be.

"The Giving Plate owns this property," she said, "and we have wonderful general contractors, so if we need to expand or change something around to make it work for the future, then we have that as an option."

The new distribution center is on First Street, next to FedEx in Bend. It's 11,000 square feet in size, with construction being taken on by Fortress Construction.

"So people can come here, and they can donate food, and then food will be distributed out to the new storefront," Cofer explained.

Staley explained the overall crux of Giving Plate buying a bus in the first place.

"Instead of expecting these kids or families to come to us in these outlying communities, we want to go to them and make it easier for them to access the food they need," she said.

Starting in June, kids will be able to get on the bus, take a tour and select their favorite items before exiting out the back. All items available in the Kids Korner Mobile Pantry will be free of charge.

Details of the four-city travel schedule will be finalized and publicized in coming weeks.