Hunger relief nonprofit triples warehouse space in SoPo lease deal
Courtesy / The Boulos Co.
The Locker Project, a hunger relief organization, will move into 6,000 square feet of office space at 111 Wescott Road in South Portland.
In a deal that closed in just six weeks, the Locker Project will move into 6,000 square feet of office space at 111 Wescott Road in South Portland.
Samantha Marinko and Greg Boulos of the Boulos Co. represented the landlord, Colonial Adjustment, in the deal. Cameron Foster, also with Boulos, represented the Locker Project.
Colonial Adjustment is an insurance agency that also occupies space in the building.
Hunger relief
The Locker Project connects food-insecure children in Greater Portland with nourishing food — rescuing thousands of pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and bread from markets and bakeries that would otherwise go to waste every month.
Local farms and Good Shepherd Food Bank provide another 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of produce and staples. The team includes scores of volunteers who pick up, sort, pack and shares the food with children and families through a network of partners and programs.
The Locker Project has grown from stocking a handful of school pantries in 2014 into a full-scale hunger relief operation with seven staff members, 100-plus volunteers, more than 45 school and agency partners, and countless community supporters.
This year, it expects to share more than 500,000 pounds of food with children and families.
“When the pandemic began, we nearly doubled our output overnight, and the need for healthy food access has continued to grow,” said Locker Project Executive Director Kathryn Sargent. “We’ve been looking for a larger space that we could afford that was also close to our partner schools in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook.”
Sargent credited Foster and Boulos for their work in locating a site, which will triple the nonprofit’s cold storage space.
“Throughout the state of Maine, over 20% of kids are food-insecure,” said Scott Kidder, CEO and president of Colonial Adjustment. “The Colonial family is thrilled to partner with an organization that is focused on this critical issue.”
In its latest newsletter, the Locker Project said its goal this summer has been to raise at least $60,000 to cover the cost of a new cooler and the move from its Scarborough warehouse to the South Portland site.
The space was formerly occupied by Spurwink, which provides behavioral health and education services for children, adults and families throughout Maine.
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