While the Superstition Community Food Bank is at work upgrading its Idaho Road facility, the Sundt Foundation has donated $5,000 to help fast-forward the project.

The award “will be put to work immediately to cover the cost of opening and connecting a cooler/freezer expansion to the existing building. The timing was perfect to keep us on track for a year-end completion,” Gary Kloefkorn, Superstition Community Food Bank board member, said in a release.

The cooler/freezer upgrade at the food bank facility, 575 N. Idaho Road Suite No. 701 in Apache Junction, is part of a $200,000 expansion project, of which $131,000 has been raised to date through grant funding and donations.

“We’re just $69,000 away from the funds we need to finish the job,” Kloefkorn said, “and the East Valley will have one of the best equipped food bank operations in the state.”

The Sundt Foundation was established in 1999 by Sundt Construction Inc. as a way for its employee-owners to give back to the communities in which they work. The organization is primarily funded by contributions from Sundt employees, which are matched by the construction company. To date, the foundation has awarded more than $4 million in donations and grants to charitable organizations dedicated to improving the lives of the disadvantaged throughout the Southwest. It has been a valuable partner of Superstition Community Food Bank since 2017, the release states.

Apache Junction Reach Out Inc., doing business as Superstition Community Food Bank, is a 501(c)3 organization that works with its volunteers and partners to provide food services to qualified individuals and families in East Valley communities with kindness, respect and dignity. For more information about the food bank and how to donate, go to superstitionfoodbank.org.

Follow the food bank on Facebook @foodbankaj, on Instagram @apachejunctionfoodbank and on Twitter @ApacheFood.