NEDERLAND, Colo. — For more than three decades, the Nederland Food Pantry has served thousands of people in the peak-to-peak region. The food pantry also manages a clothing closet and garden.

Currently, they operate out of the Nederland Community Center in a wing that has been slated for demolition for some time. In addition, the demand has grown significantly over the years, and the food pantry needs more space.

"This space was really never intended to be of service for this amount of need that we have in our community," said Nederland Food Pantry executive director Nicole Cavalino. “With the increase of gas prices, food supply chain issues, just folks really struggling, struggling to pay their basic bills... we need to grow with our community's need.”

A proposal for a new building in the parking lot of the community center will be heard by the Town of Nederland Board of Trustees Tuesday evening.

“This driveway that is now the entrance of the community center, we're going to be on the south side of that driveway," said Cavalino. “We are presenting a 2,500 square foot footprint of a steel building, but with the accessibility of two floors... If this goes through and the town approves us to move into this area, it would be really, really beneficial to stay centrally located and still be next to the community center for emergency preparedness, that sort of thing.”

If the board of trustees approves the new building, the food pantry will begin raising money for the project, which they expect to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million.