Former grocery store on Charleston’s West Side to be transferred to Mountaineer Food Bank

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A former grocery store building on Charleston’s West Side is getting new life.

Charleston City Council approved an agreement Monday evening to transfer the former Save A Lot property at 748 Virginia Street West to Mountaineer Food Bank, according to a news release.

The agreement transfers the property to Mountaineer Food Bank and provides a path forward for the ARPA-funded project, including $440,000 in federal funding already invested in the property.

“We have the opportunity to put this property to use in a way that can benefit the West Side and our broader community,” Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said in the news release. “Mountaineer Food Bank brings decades of experience and resources to that work. Their volunteer center gives this facility an immediate purpose, while their commitment to listening to the neighborhood and working alongside organizations already serving the West Side will help shape what comes next.”

The first planned use of the property is a new Mountaineer Food Bank Volunteer Center, where volunteers will help prepare and pack food for distribution through the food bank’s network of partner agencies. The new space will expand volunteer capacity, allowing more food to be prepared for distribution and ultimately reach more people and communities.

“We are deeply excited about this opportunity to better serve the Kanawha Valley and become part of Charleston’s West Side community,” said Chad Morrison, CEO of Mountaineer Food Bank. “For 45 years, Mountaineer Food Bank has fought food insecurity in Kanawha County and now we have a chance to call part of it home. We look forward to transforming the building into a space for exceptional volunteer experiences as well as co-creating the rest of the space with community members to ensure community needs are at the heart of what we are making and no one goes to bed hungry.”

Mountaineer Food Bank currently works with approximately 35–40 partner agencies in Kanawha County, including Covenant House, Step by Step and A More Excellent Way.

While the broader concept for the property is still developing, Mountaineer Food Bank intends to engage West Side agencies, community leaders and residents to help identify needs, gaps and opportunities that could shape future uses of the property, the news release said. The goal is to complement and strengthen the work already happening in the community—not replace or duplicate services provided by existing food pantries or other organizations.

The Charleston facility will be an expansion of Mountaineer Food Bank’s presence, not a relocation of its statewide distribution operation in Gassaway.

The organization originally selected to carry out the ARPA-funded project, PAAC, was no longer positioned to complete it within federal requirements and timelines, according to the city’s outside ARPA consultant, the news release said.

The city said immediate plans for the property will include cleaning, building improvements and beginning work to establish the volunteer center.