Boston Food Bank launches campaign

The Greater Boston Food Bank today launched a campaign to raise $30 million to build a distribution center to help feed the growing number of hungry people in Eastern Massachusetts.

The Food Bank, which distributes nearly 26 million pounds of food annually to more than 600 hunger relief agencies, said it needs to raise money to buy land and build a 96,000-square-foot distribution center.

The Yawkey Foundation, which aims to continue the charitable legacy of former Red Sox owners Tom and Jean Yawkey, has already pledged $3 million to the campaign, and the new facility will be named the Yawkey Distribution Center, the Food Bank said.

"We are now feeding 320,000 people a year - that's a 14 percent increase since 2001," Food Bank chief executive Catherine D'Amato said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we do not see this trend reversing."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)