It hasn't been easy for people trying to get something to eat at the old West Seattle Food Bank. Often about 20 families patiently stood in line on the sidewalk, sometimes in the rain, with cars full of prying eyes on nearby Fauntleroy Way.

But at the new West Seattle Food Bank and Community Service Center, which opened this week, people needing food will have an indoor waiting area with chairs, restrooms, and a corner devoted to children.

There's also space in the new waiting area for staff to help people appIy for job training or food stamps. Medical assistants will have room to check people's blood pressure and librarians can read to waiting children.

"Now our clients won't be out on public display," said Pete Spalding, president of the food bank's board of directors.

The food bank just moved into the new green and blue, three-story building at the corner of 35th Avenue Southwest and Morgan Street.

Besides the food bank, the new building also has offices for several private, nonprofit social service agencies. The upper floors of the new development contain 34 apartments for low-income and disabled people who qualify.

The West Seattle Food Bank is anchor tenant of the new building. It has almost triple the space it had at its previous location on Genesee Street as well as offices for its staff, said Fran Yeatts, executive director.

Besides offering groceries, the food bank also provides baby food, formula and diapers through the agency WestSide Baby.

Donated food often arrives on pallets. At the old location, wrapped pallets were left outside. Volunteers disassembled each load and carried individual packages inside. But the new food bank has an interior loading dock and a new electric pallet jack to make food drop-offs more efficient.

The new walk-in cooler is twice the size of the old one.

Another positive aspect of the food bank's new location is there's room to house other private, nonprofit organizations that can help food bank clients.

Family Services of Seattle and King County works under contract to the city and county to assist homeless people and tenants who are on the verge of eviction.

In a few months, it will be joined by the West Seattle Helpline, which is moving out of its longtime office in the Junction. The Helpline provides emergency money to help West Seattleites pay for rent, utility bills, prescriptions, transportation and other basic needs.

Megawatt is a West Seattle organization that operates an online clearinghouse for volunteers and volunteer opportunities in West Seattle. It strives to increase human connections to enrich individuals as well as the West Seattle community as a whole.

The organization previously had an office in the Admiral District but last weekend volunteers moved Megawatt into its new office at 35th and Morgan.

"Their community-building mentality will add a lot," Yeatts said.

A new organization called Eastern African Communities also will be housed in the new building. It will assist immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti.

There will even be a rentable Flexcar stationed at the new building.

The developer and owner of the building is the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, another private nonprofit organization. Its building manager will have an office there too.

It used to be that food bank staffers could only offer their clients a phone number if they needed additional help from another social service agency. Now clients can visit other helpful agencies in the same building.

The West Seattle Food Bank is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Wednesday, it's open until 7 p.m.

Food is distributed to the general public from 4 until 7 p.m. Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays.

Senior citizens have their own special time for food distribution, from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at timstc@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.