BofA Grant Completes FIND Food Bank's Landmark Expansion Project

INDIO, CA – January 30, 2026 – FIND Regional Food Bank has officially completed its ambitious capital campaign for a new, state-of-the-art Food Security Campus, thanks to a capstone $500,000 grant from Bank of America. The announcement, made during FIND’s annual State of Hunger address, marks a pivotal moment for the Inland Empire’s largest hunger-relief organization, empowering it to meet record-level demand and fundamentally enhance its community services.

The grant finalizes the funding for a new 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Indio, a project designed to triple the organization's capacity. This critical expansion moves beyond simple storage, creating a multi-faceted hub for food distribution, disaster response, and workforce development, signaling a new era for food security across the region.

Addressing a Critical Need in the Inland Empire

The necessity for such a significant expansion is rooted in the stark reality of food insecurity plaguing the vast desert region. According to recent data, nearly 11% of residents in the Inland Empire face uncertainty about where their next meal will come from. The situation is even more dire for the youngest residents, with studies showing one in seven children in Riverside County and one in six in San Bernardino County experience hunger.

This long-standing issue was severely exacerbated by the economic shocks of the recent pandemic, which saw demand for FIND's services triple. The surge pushed the food bank’s existing 35,000-square-foot facility to its absolute limits, exceeding its storage capacity by 80%. To cope, the organization was forced to rely on three additional leased warehouses spread across a 100-mile radius, creating logistical hurdles and incurring significant operational costs. The new, consolidated campus directly confronts these challenges, creating a more efficient and powerful base of operations.

A New Era of Capacity and Resilience

The newly opened warehouse is more than just a larger building; it is a strategic investment in community resilience. Its centerpiece is a massive expansion of cold storage and refrigeration. This allows FIND to increase its distribution of fresh produce—fruits, vegetables, and dairy—by an estimated 60%. This enhancement is crucial for improving the nutritional quality of the food provided to the 125,000 people the organization serves each month. By consolidating operations, FIND will also eliminate remote storage costs, redirecting those funds back into its core mission.

Furthermore, the facility was designed with long-term sustainability and emergency preparedness in mind. A fully sustainable rooftop solar array will help power the campus, reducing both its carbon footprint and operational expenses. This infrastructure, combined with the massive local food supply, positions FIND as the designated regional Disaster Response food bank for the state of California, ensuring that food supplies remain local and can be rapidly deployed during a crisis.

“We are incredibly grateful to Bank of America for their generous support of FIND Regional Food Bank,” said Debbie Espinosa, President & CEO of FIND. “This grant not only completes our capital campaign for our new warehouse and Workforce Development Training Center, but it also strengthens our ability to provide fresh food, educational programs, and critical disaster-resilient infrastructure to the communities we serve. With this support, we can continue to meet rising demand to serve the over 100 nonprofit community organizations, and ensure that every person in need across our region has access to nutritious food and the resources to build a healthier, more stable future.”

More Than a Meal: The Modern Food Bank as a Community Hub

This expansion reflects a nationwide evolution in the role of food banks. No longer simply distribution points for non-perishables, organizations like FIND are transforming into comprehensive community hubs that address the root causes of poverty.

The new Indio warehouse will house a Workforce Development Training Center, offering programs designed to equip community members with valuable skills for the modern economy. The goal is to provide pathways to economic self-sufficiency, breaking the cycle of poverty that often leads to food insecurity in the first place.

This holistic approach is precisely what drew Bank of America's strategic support. “Today's food banks provide so much more than a meal. Organizations like FIND Regional Food Bank are community hubs for wellness, wrap around services and even workforce training that collectively help people overcome barriers to economic mobility,” said Sherri Anderson, BofA Inland Empire president. “Our support helps FIND grow the space it needs to serve more neighbors, while building the resilience required to keep fresh food flowing during emergencies, when communities are at their most vulnerable.”

A Model of Strategic Philanthropy

Bank of America's $500,000 contribution is the latest chapter in a long-standing partnership. Over the past five years, the financial institution had already provided nearly $200,000 in grants to FIND. This most recent investment is part of Bank of America’s broader, five-year $250 million national commitment to address basic needs and combat hunger.

This approach to corporate social responsibility highlights a shift toward strategic philanthropy, where corporate partners invest in infrastructure and programs that deliver long-term, systemic impact. The grant to FIND is not merely a donation but an investment in the economic and social health of the Inland Empire.

The project’s success is also a testament to a wider community effort. The land for the new campus was donated by The Houston Foundation, and the project has benefited from state-level support for regional food banks. This collaborative spirit has been essential in bringing the ambitious $10 million capital campaign to a successful conclusion.

With its new Food Security Campus now fully funded and operational, FIND Regional Food Bank is poised to double its impact, projecting an increase from distributing 20 million to 40 million pounds of food annually. Serving a 10,000-square-mile area through a network of 155 distribution sites, the organization is now better equipped than ever to fulfill its mission to end hunger not just for today, but for a lifetime.