New Food Bank, Community Space For Africatown

The City of Mobile and the Mobile County Commission are partnering to open a food bank and community space in Africatown at the former Scott Credit Union building at 2201 Paper Mill Road, WKRG reported. While appraised for $300,000, the property was sold by the Meaher family to the city for $50,000 to give back to the community, the family said. The operation of the new food bank will be a partnership between Mobile, Feeding the Gulf Coast, Yorktown Missionary Baptist Church and Africatown Community Development Corp. The city said the partnership grew out of its efforts to find an appropriate location to house a food bank in Africatown and Mobile County Commission President Merceria Ludgood’s efforts to find an appropriate home for the recently created Africatown Redevelopment Corp. As part of the partnership, the building may also be repurposed for other community uses. The city of Mobile used funds from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to purchase the property and will supply the equipment needed to get the food bank running within 90 days.