May 24—A Norman-based homebuilder will begin construction to provide a food pantry with a grocery store shopping experience for those in need following a groundbreaking ceremony at its partner nonprofit Monday.
The Share Center, 211 Reed Ave., is the next effort of Food and Shelter to end hunger in the greater Norman area.
It will centralize many food pantries across Norman into one larger space that can provide more than the traditional pantry offerings.
The project costs $1.9 million, which donors have paid. A timeline for completion of The Share Center is not yet known.
April Doshier, executive director for Food and Shelter, said the idea for The Share Center came from a desire to centrally locate resources for the Norman community.
Doshier said The Regional Food Bank of Moore has a similar support model that was developed following the 2013 tornado.
In April 2017, the Regional Food Bank told Doshier that Norman was failing to serve people with food insecurity. The nonprofit served more than 180,000 meals in 2018, its website reads.
“Fifty percent of the people we know who need us are not coming to any food pantry,” Doshier said. “What they found is people who were not coming to food pantries, were not coming because they didn’t get to choose their own food, and they were getting food that really wouldn’t work for their families.”
Ronda McKown, outreach ministry for Ideal Homes and Neighborhoods, reached out to Doshier after she visited Our Daily Bread, a Stillwater-based food and resource center in 2020.
She said Stillwater churches centralize their food pantries at Our Daily Bread. Families who need assistance take a grocery cart through the store and pick out needed items at no cost.
Gene and Sherry McKown, co-founders of Ideal Homes and Neighborhoods, and Dan and Amy Reeves, co-founders of Landmark Fine Homes, will contribute approximately half of the total project cost.
The McKowns also personally donated $300,000 toward the food and resource center.
The lumber and plumbing companies that work with Landmark Homes will donate their efforts toward the project. Landmark Homes will build the “grocery store” for free, Gene McKown said.
Dan Reeves, president of Landmark Fine Homes, said Food and Shelter is close to their heart, and they are eager to construct what will be their second building for the nonprofit.
“It’s so exciting that we now are going to have a grocery store-type setting, and we’re going to have freezer sections that they can get their meat,” Doshier said.
The Share Center will also help connect families to the Housing Authority and the Department of Human Services.
As Norman looks for additional ways to serve the unhoused and hungry, Gene McKown said it’s exciting to get a project that contributes to an important need.
“One of my missions is to get a roof over every head before I turn 80 and I run out of time, and I’m 78,” he said.
Doshier said The Share Center will be a place where families of all backgrounds can receive access to the items and support they need. She said the project is a dream come true.
“If we can make life a little easier for anybody, I think we should,” she said. “That’s the importance of The Share Center, and that’s why I’m so grateful and excited for Norman — the direction that we’re going and the love that we give to people is so special.”
Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at [email protected] or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.
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