Open Door Food Kitchen held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon for its new location.

The food kitchen has been serving hungry people in St. Joseph at its location at 510 Edmond St. for over 30 years.

President of the Board for Open Door Food Kitchen LeeAnn Smiley said relocating has been an idea in the works for awhile.   

“This is a collaborative project of getting this underway. It’s not something that we had as an initiative, but when we were approached and looked at the concept, we were very excited about the idea,” Smiley said. “Our current facility is not as energy efficient as it should be, it’s not one level, it’s not (easily) accessible for some of our patrons, but the new building’s going to be all of that for us and more. So we want to thank everybody that has participated, that has helped, that has volunteered, that has donated, that has made this possible at this time that we can have a groundbreaking.”

The new facility will be at 619 S. Eighth Street in St. Joseph. Smiley said, weather permitting, construction will start in March and the goal is to have the new facility open in the fall.