Mid-South Food Bank Renovations

3865 S Perkins Rd., Memphis, TN 38118 United States

Building Area (sf): 164,000

Completion: 2019

Architect of Record:

Pickering Firm, Inc.

Project Manager:
Tom Moisan, RA

Pickering Architects:
Kevin Getman, AIA
Tom McConnell, AIA
Bill Gallagher, RA

Pickering Engineers:
Mike Bilderbeck, PE, FASHRAE
Jonathan Foshee, PE
John Hamilton, PE
Ron Fuller, PE, LEED AP, BD+C
Bill Selkirk, PE
Yousef Saleh, PE
Kathy Kontrim, PE
Ryan Smith, PE
Bill Woods, RLS

• Owner/Client:
• General Contractor:
• Electrical:
• Engineering:
  
• Other:
  
• Photography:
  Jim Kiihnl
  

Pickering provided architectural and engineering design for the expansion of a local food bank. By consolidating three facilities into a single, larger warehouse, Mid-South Food Bank is now equipped to increase food distribution, maximize efficiency and help fight hunger.

Pickering provided architectural and engineering design for the renovation of a 164,000 square foot (SF) warehouse space for a local food bank. Previously, the client operated out of three storage and distribution facilities (84,000 combined SF). Pickering focused on providing a design for the client that maximized the efficiency of the newly purchased building which lowered the overall building overhead cost. That capital was reinvested back into serving the hungry in the Memphis community.

Retrofitting the large warehouse required several adaptations. This included designing a state-of-the-art, walk-in cooler and refrigeration system with 25’ ceilings. The expansion includes 37,080 square feet total of freezer and cooler space, including a 4,744-square-foot cold dock. This compares to 11,000 SF of freezer and cooler space at the former facilities. An increased storage scapacity for perishable items supports the organization’s shift towards providing more fresh foods to the community and helping to eliminate hunger. The warehouse design also provides nearly 60,000 SF of dry storage and an 8,090-SF supermarket.

At nearly double the size of the previous facilities combined, this food bank can now operate with up to 150 volunteers in addition to 50 employees. A newly designed volunteer sorting area, an industrial style, teaching kitchen, 6,300 SF of flexible meeting space and 8,750 SF of corporate office make this operational increase possible. Thirty loading docks were renovated with new equipment and a recycling salvage station was added. The new food bank is equipped to increase its distribution from approximately 16 million pounds of food annually to at least 25 million pounds by 2025.