Chattanoogans in need of food from the Chattanooga Area Food Bank may have to travel a little farther on Saturday, Sept. 9 as the facility temporarily moves its USDA commodities distribution site to Chattanooga State Community College at 4501 Amnicola Highway from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The food bank distributes USDA commodities to Hamilton County residents once a quarter on a Saturday, but this year it falls on the same weekend as the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
The facility anticipates heavy traffic and is not able to close off streets due to Ironman, which resulted in the decision to move to better accommodate over 2,000 food insecure families registered to receive a food box, according to Scott Bruce, director of marketing and communications.
"We decided that we needed to move to better serve our clients and continue running a smooth 3 hour distribution," Bruce said.
The new site is less than four miles north of the food bank and recipients are asked to enter at the college through the main entrance.
Food bank employees and volunteers will be onsite to direct traffic and move the three hour distribution along smoothly, according to a news release.