Building a place the community deserves, providing food and dignity.

The grocery and lobby for the food bank are along the street edge. Storefront windows were utilized for transparency and openness. The windows allow for daylight into the space, increase safety by having eyes on the street, enhance the streetscape, and reinforces that this is a community space to be utilized by everyone without stigma. "Welcome" in multiple languages is carved into the reception desk.

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Over 40 languages are spoken in White Center. The six most common (English, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Khmer) are painted at the building entrance and make up the donor wall, where buttons with donor names spell "community".

A new, flush cold storage walk-in unit was a "must have" for the new warehouse area. In the future, photovoltaics on the roof will power a battery generator connected to the cold storage units so they will be operational during emergencies. The unit was paid for by a grant from the US Dept. of Agriculture.

“[The center has] everything you could want. They have cilantro, onions for your chilis, salsa, guisada meat, and fresh tomatoes, always the beset...The food bank, it's like a gift. It's like a gift from the community for people who are having a hard time finding food. You're able to get all your food, you can get pastas, beans, flour, dairy, and meats; they provide it allI.”

Angela Mae Hernandex, customer

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White Center is known for murals. They are used to dress up empty walls, to show cultural pride, advertise food, and celebrate people. Local artists were commissioned to design and install two murals along the street. Food bank customers participated in the process, attending workshops to determine mural content, posing as models, and helping to paint the final artwork.