FOOD SHARE OPENS NEW WAREHOUSE\9-year-old operation needs refrigerator to store donations.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

With more mouths to feed every year, Ventura County's food bank has gained a long-awaited warehouse addition for dry goods and the organization is raising money to install additional refrigerated storage.

The 8,500-square-foot warehouse addition for FOOD Share Inc. was dedicated Tuesday and then immediately put to use with the delivery of a truckload of food from Vons supermarkets.

Jack Layton, who volunteers his time to manage the warehouse, said the addition provides 65 percent more storage space and was sorely needed.

"It's going to help a lot. We usually have all our aisles full and we can't get around," said Layton, who has managed the warehouse operation for seven years. "We have to turn down three or four truckloads a month."

Since opening in a two-car garage in 1977, FOOD Share has grown to provide both dry and perishable food to some 250 pantries, kitchens and relief programs across the county.

More than 125,000 men, women and children receive food through one of the programs supported by FOOD Share each month, and that number is growing. At the same time, federal programs are being cut that provide bulk commodities and money to purchase food for families in emergencies, said Jim Mangis, FOOD Share's executive director.

"This is such a time of change in food banking and social services nationwide. This is a time of financial question marks for agencies like ours," Mangis explained.

The warehouse addition was a four-month project that cost $250,000. Mangis said fund-raising has kept pace with construction costs, but the agency has not met its funding goal for the refrigerated storage project.

Adding 24,000 cubic feet of cool storage and 24,000 cubic feet of frozen storage will cost about $140,000. Mangis said the agency has raised $50,000 and hoped to raise a similar amount before starting construction.

"We had to build the (warehouse addition). That very well may be what we do with the refrigeration," he said. "We need it now. We have to turn a lot of refrigerated food down, particularly the frozen food."

FOOD Share needs refrigerated storage for produce gleaned from county fields and orchards, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, frozen meats and vegetables.

Dry goods FOOD Share distributes include cereal, flour, beans, rice, bread, macaroni and canned food.

A dozen paid workers and more than 500 volunteers gather or purchase 11.5 million pounds of food annually for the agency.

FOOD Share has a variety of fund-raising programs to help pay for the expansion projects and continuing costs for food. For more information, phone [phone].

One fund-raiser that has been gaining popularity is the annual "Hike Against Hunger." The two-day walk will begin in Ventura on Feb. 24 and will end in Santa Barbara the following day, with walkers spending the night in Carpinteria.

In its first year in 1992, the walk attracted 14 participants who raised $3,000 in sponsorship money. In 1995, there were 45 walkers who raised $16,000, said Bill Mitchell, who organizes the walk with his wife, Nancy.

For more information about the walk, phone [phone].

HOW TO HELP

FOOD Share will hold its annual "Hike Against Hunger" from Ventura to Santa Barbara on Feb. 24-25. For more information, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

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Photo (1) Glenna Ross, a FOOD Share volunteer from Port Hueneme, stores donations in the 8,500-square-foot addition to the warehouse Tuesday. Dusty Locke/Special to the Daily News (2) Melissa Morel and Ray Pontine sort lemons for the food bank. Box HOW TO HELP (See text)