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Responding to feedback from neighbors who utilize its Food Shelf Program, we have purchased a new facility at 220 N.E. 3rd Avenue in Grand Rapids, MN.

“We’re excited about our new facility and this location,” said our President/CEO, Shaye Moris. “When our new strategic plan launched last year, we’ve committed our organization to understanding and responding to the preferences of the food insecure neighbors we support. This new location is in direct response to what we learned from our Grand Rapids area neighbors.”

Through surveys and ongoing conversations, we learned that neighbors preferred a location for programming that was closer to city center, walkable, and other services. After searching for months, this facility rose to the top as the most viable option.

We consolidated our food bank operations to our new facility in Duluth in July 2025 in an effort to reduce expense and increase efficiency. This facility now supports our network of agency and community partners (food shelves, on-site meal programs, tribal organizations) within our 15-county NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin service region. We then began a search for a new facility in Grand Rapids to support our remaining Food Shelf Program, recently finding this new facility and entering into a contract to sell our current 2222 Cromell Drive, LaPrairie, MN, location.

We will continue to operate at our current location and hope to begin renovation of our new facility this month with plans to open later this fall. In addition to offering in-store shopping, we plan to implement new services models that will reduce wait times and expand partnership with other organizations who can offer other holistic supports to the neighbors we serve (e.g. SNAP enrollment, housing support, healthcare navigation, etc.).

In addition to serving as the region’s only food bank, we support families, children and seniors directly through our Food Shelf, Mobile Food Pantry, Nutrition for Seniors, BackPack and School Pantry Programs. Our Grand Rapids Food Shelf Program is one of the largest in the Northland, supporting an average of 2,800 people per month and ensuring nearly 628,000 meals annually.

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In -20° weather with snow swirling outside, Hannah waits in her warm car to pick up her monthly supply of supplemental food at our Food Shelf Program in Duluth. Born and raised in Minnesota, this weather is nothing new to her. As she waits, Hannah thinks about how active her kids are and how important it is to her that she is able to provide them with healthy meals. 

“Feeding myself and my three kids with what I pick up at the Second Harvest Northland Food Shelf definitely fills a gap, because we pretty much live paycheck to paycheck,” Hannah shares. 

Ensuring our food shelf is open and available regardless of the weather is important to us, however, even for those like Hannah, who have grown up in Minnesota, sometimes the weather is unbearably cold.

In phase two of our Nourish the Northland Capital Campaign, we are excited to increase equitable and dignified food access through a grocery store style in-person shopping experience. Neighbors like Hannah will be able to pick specific items they need for a recipe and interact with volunteers while both stay warm and dry, no matter the season.