New ‘Meals on Wheels People’ center in Foster-Powell previewed

Here’s a sneak peek at the large, new center this honored nonprofit organization is establishing here in outer East Portland …

These long-vacant buildings are actively becoming the Meals on Wheels People’s Eastside Hub location.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

In the building which, decades ago, housed a carwash, and for decades a “Color Tile” store – across from Eastport Plaza, at 4035 SE 82nd Avenue of Roses – is now well on its way to becoming a new Meals on Wheels People (MOWP) Eastside Center.

This new center also now includes a warehouse-like structure directly to the north of it, which was once the Gary’s Organ Center store.

Some two dozen supporters of the nonprofit organization learned about the history of the building, and the new plans for it now to benefit home-based senior citizens, at a luncheon meeting in the new facility on Wednesday, June 26.

Telling about their program and the building project is Meals on Wheels People CEO Suzanne Washington.

Meals on Wheels People CEO Suzanne Washington explained why this location was chosen for the new facility: “This provides better access to the whole east side of Portland. It’s on a good bus line, and there are good distribution transportation connections.

“And there a lot of minority populations who live in this area,” Washington added.

Forklifts can drive right into these huge commercial food freezers – now chillingly cold – at the new East Portland Hub.

Constructed in three phases
“These connected buildings will be remodeled over three phases,” Washington told East Portland News. “Today, we’re celebrating Phase One – the completion of our drive-in refrigerator and freezer units, where we’ll be able to store about 50,000 frozen meals for emergencies anywhere in our entire Eastside Hub.”

In this section, originally built for a carwash, construction is underway and will soon result in a new dining area, services site, and Meals for Kids program.

“Phase Two, now under construction, will be our ‘Service Site’, providing a dining and services area for older folks, as well as our Meals for Kids program, and it will hopefully be open by the start of August,” Washington continued.

“Then, moving forward to Phase Three, will be building out the north end of the building for a commercial kitchen area – and an event space upstairs,” she noted.

Guests enjoy a luncheon, as they learn more about this project.

“We’re doing this because we learned in the pandemic to be better prepared for emergencies,” Washington said. “We currently have 45,000 meals in a [rented] freezer in Clackamas; we want to get them into our own building, so we have ready access to the food – which, as well, will reduce our storage costs.”

Large refrigerated trucks will soon be backing up into this loading bay to have their cargo transferred by forklift into the giant freezers.

“So, this prepares us for the future,” Washington summarized. “Our Eastside Hub also will be a good environmental steward, because we will be able to get rid of one of our big diesel trucks once this center becomes operational.

“At the heart of it, everything we do is for those we serve – to make sure that they have access to food.”

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