GAP ministries cooks up plan to restore store-damaged warehouse

GAP Ministries is cooking up a plan to restore a warehouse damaged by a storm a few weeks ago while also breaking ground on the GAP Kitchen at the GAP Ministries Campus of Hope on Monday, Aug. 12.

“This storm damage was just completely unexpected. Estimates for the roof on the warehouse and the interior are about $200,000. Hopefully insurance will cover most of it, but there still might be items that we need to pay for that we weren’t planning on,” said Tiane Kennedy, public relations and development director for GAP Ministries.

Located on the Campus of Hope at 2025 W. Highway Drive, the damaged warehouse provides storage, houses administrative spaces and serves as a hub for volunteer activities, meetings and events.

“It is an important building for us that gets used all the time and we need to have it repaired as soon as possible. Just the day before the storm, we had 80 volunteers who gathered there to make 1,400 sandwiches. At some point the plans are to turn it into a convention center that we can offer as a low-cost option for nonprofits and churches to have events catered by our new kitchen,” Kennedy said.

Currently, the temporary GAP Kitchen provides 100,000 annual meals to local nonprofits and social service agencies including five Pima County Parks & Recreation centers, Southern Arizona Community Academy, Pima Partnership, Pio Decimo day care, Mobile Meals for Interfaith Community Services, La Frontera and more.

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The new 2,100-square-foot commercial kitchen, which is slated to open in November, will complete the GAP Ministries Campus of Hope. Kennedy said it will also offer a much-needed commissary kitchen that will provide dry and refrigerated food storage, food prep spaces and access to fresh and grey water amenities for food trucks.

“There aren’t enough commissary kitchens in Tucson, and we are conveniently located just off the highway. The new kitchen will also enable us to double or even triple our meal production and serve more students in our culinary training program for men and women from difficult backgrounds,” Kennedy said.

More than $240,000 has been raised for the kitchen, and $129,000 is still needed. Donations can be made online at gapmin.com/campus-of-hope; you can also contribute to the warehouse restoration at gapmin.com.