Update: Second Harvest Northland is hosting a public meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, at the Grand Rapids Food Shelf to share more information about the recent changes.
In a statement on social media, the organization said it hopes to provide clarity and converse with community members.
GRAND RAPIDS — Rows of blue and orange pallet racks sat mostly empty in Second Harvest Northland’s Grand Rapids Food Bank on June 18.
Food from these massive shelves and the bank’s industrial fridge and freezer used to be distributed across northeastern and central Minnesota. Second Harvest’s partners will still get those shipments. But now, they’ll all be sent from a new warehouse in Duluth.
Second Harvest’s Grand Rapids Food Shelf, which adjoins the Food Bank, will remain open with no impact on the quantity, quality or variety of food, the organization said.
Leaders of Second Harvest also said the organization is exploring ways to invest into Grand Rapids area programming the money it saved by consolidating to one warehouse.
But local volunteers with the organization said they are concerned community needs might not be met because of the change and that Second Harvest hasn’t been transparent throughout the process.
'Increased need, funding uncertainty and recent regulatory changes’
Second Harvest Northland announced in late May it was “exploring investment in its Grand Rapids Food Shelf Program following an operational change at the end of June.”
The announcement focused on the possibilities of a future investment, before shifting to the details of the “operational change.”
The Duluth-based Northern Lakes and Grand Rapids-based North Central branches merged in 2024 to form Second Harvest Northland, supporting hunger relief across 15 counties in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
The Northern Lakes branch bought a Duluth warehouse in 2022 that is double the size of the former Duluth and Grand Rapids facilities.
Second Harvest said a statewide study showed excess warehouse space in Northern Minnesota and recommended consolidating the food banks. The organization said the change will increase the amount and variety of food available.
Half the Grand Rapids staff would be laid off because of the change, but they would be offered positions in Duluth.
“Increased need, funding uncertainty and recent regulatory changes have made it an important time to strengthen Second Harvest Northland to ensure its long-term viability and sustainability,” the announcement stated.
The move was the most efficient option for the organization, said Trisha Zimmerman, director of philanthropy for Second Harvest Northland.
A handout from the organization said the change will also increase its impact, ensure sound stewardship and allow the highest standards of operation.
The move will save an estimated $300,000 a year, which Zimmerman said the organization hopes to reinvest in Grand Rapids.
“That is our goal,” she said in a June 25 interview. “Now, in saying that, you know that there’s always — I mean, we’re dealing with inflation just like everybody else.”
Second Harvest is currently interviewing those who come to the food shelf to find out how they can better meet their needs, asking for opinions on the location, structure and hours of the food shelf. Changes could come after the surveys are completed.
“We don’t have any hard date that we’re looking at,” Zimmerman said. “We just want to make sure that we do our due diligence and talking to our neighbors [food shelf visitors] and other organizations that are serving our neighbors in the community before we make any decisions.”
'Not prioritizing this community’
But a Grand Rapids volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous, said they don’t have faith Second Harvest will follow through.
“Because I haven’t seen a lot of transparency or willingness to work with the Grand Rapids community at all, up to this point anyway,” the volunteer said.
They pointed to the community’s longtime support for Second Harvest. When the directors of Second Harvest North Central — the Grand Rapids branch — approved the merger, the volunteer said they were assured it would be a “true merger.”
“And we would just benefit from being with [Second Harvest Northern Lakes],” they said. “Instead, it seems like — well, when you close a building and people lose their jobs, that’s certainly not very beneficial to the community.”
The volunteer is also worried community needs might not be met in the future.
Multiple volunteers separately told KAXE they were concerned about running out of cooler space. The Grand Rapids Food Shelf previously had access to the warehouse’s industrial-sized fridge and freezer.
A commercial fridge and a freezer were brought in to replace the lost space.
“It’ll never accommodate the amount that we had before,” the anonymous volunteer said.
Tammy Pluym, a seasonal resident who’s in her fourth summer of volunteering, expressed similar concern about meeting community needs.
“There’s no way they can service this community from two hours away in the manner that they had in the past,” she said. “Now, they say they’re going to, so time will tell. But I have my doubts.”
Pluym said it feels like Second Harvest is more focused on Duluth with Grand Rapids as an afterthought, but she didn’t have any specific examples.
“It’s just a general vibe that they’re not prioritizing this community,” she said.
Second Harvest said they’re making the change for efficiency, Pluym said, but gave very few details about how the food shelf would be impacted.
In an email to the organization Pluym shared with KAXE, she asked for those details.
“Your truckload of food from Duluth arrived more than an hour after we had already opened our doors and served 45 families. Then we had to scramble to stock the shelves,” Pluym wrote.
“Also we had tons of eggs in our cooler that we were not allowed to distribute here since we were required to send them to Duluth. And we are no longer allowed to give our spoiled food to local pig farmers, we have [to] send our rotten food to Duluth. None of this seems efficient.”
In response, president/CEO Shaye Moris thanked Pluym for sharing her concerns, reaffirmed Second Harvest’s commitment to the community and acknowledged the “significant transition.”
“While we welcome volunteer feedback and observations, decisions regarding our operational strategy — including staffing, logistics, inventory management and food safety are guided by our organizational priorities, resources and regulatory requirements,” Moris wrote.
“We recognize that some of these decisions can be difficult or feel temporarily disruptive, but they are being made with the broader goal of serving our entire region equitably and sustainably.”
'There is a need’
While visiting the food shelf in mid-June, Annika and Harly Hines of Grand Rapids said they hadn’t heard anything about the warehouse changes. They liked the idea of a drive-up, one of the reinvestment possibilities floated by Second Harvest.
“I definitely feel like there is a need just for anything food-related, ‘cause there’s a lot going on in the community. People are struggling,” Annika said.
Rachel from Bovey said she visits once, maybe twice a month. She hadn’t heard much about the changes, but Second Harvest has earned her trust, and she’s the “go-with-the-flow" type.
Second Harvest delivers food to over 60 food shelves across the region; Zimmerman said that is its main job and makes up 80% of its work.
Dianne Wiley volunteers her time as the director of the Northome Food Shelf, which gets its food from Second Harvest. She said there’s been a slight reduction in food as Second Harvest has made its transition, but they’re surviving.
“I realized there would be some confusion with the combination and stuff, and yet at the same time, things become easier,” Wiley said, noting her most recent food order had a few more choices.
“ ... I’m hoping and glad that we’re getting a lot of the kinks worked out, but I know it’s been a struggle for everyone.”
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