Houston Food Bank is seeking volunteers to help with donations after it was forced to throw away nearly 2 million pounds of fresh food worth almost $3 million.
An ammonia leak Tuesday night happened after one of the fans used to cool a refrigerated area “caved into the actual unit,” Brian Greene, president of Houston Food Bank, told ABC Houston station KTRK.
The food that was tossed was worth an estimated $2.7 million, Greene said. Fresh produce that was en route to the warehouse is being stored in refrigerated trucks as repairs continue inside the facility.
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Video taken inside part of the facility’s 28,000 square feet of refrigerated space shows aisles and aisles ceiling-high shelves completely bare.
Greene said volunteers are needed urgently so the organization can continue to accept donations from “all over the country.”
The food bank operates 24 hours a day and serves about 1.1 million people who are struggling with food insecurity, he said.
