GRAND RAPIDS — The Second Harvest Northland warehouse east of Grand Rapids echoed Tuesday, July 8, as CEO Shaye Moris addressed the 40 or so people gathered for a community meeting.
“So a few things that I want to acknowledge up first, is that neighbors are at the center of our decision-making,” Moris told the group.
“You need to know that. The decisions that we’re making are important to our neighbors, and that’s where are focus is right now.”
The nonprofit hosted a community meeting following community concerns around the closure of its Grand Rapids warehouse operation.
The nonprofit officially shifted all food bank warehouse operations to Duluth last week. The majority of Second Harvest’s work is distributing food to its partner agencies across northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
The Grand Rapids food shelf that adjoins the warehouse continues to provide food directly to consumers three days a week.
Second Harvest said the meeting would provide clarity about the recent change and offer a chance for conversation.
For almost an hour, Moris and others from the organization responded to community concerns: What prompted this? How would it impact Grand Rapids? Why wasn’t Second Harvest more upfront about the changes?
The Duluth-based Northern Lakes and Grand Rapids-based North Central branches merged last year to become Second Harvest Northland, which announced in late May that the two food banks would be consolidating in the name of efficiency.
Moris said they’ve been planning the change for six months and had a robust communication plan.
“So, any recent impact, I can say, maybe falls on the shoulders of our team here to be responsible for what happens within the food shelf,” she said.
And Second Harvest leaders have said it plans to reinvest the $300,000 the organization is saving into its Grand Rapids programming.
There are no set plans for that yet, but the organization said it is surveying food shelf visitors for feedback. A drive-thru food shelf option could be added in the future. Second Harvest will likely sell its present building and open a new food shelf in a more convenient location.
Moris said about 40% of the consolidation savings came from five warehouse employees who were laid off. Grand Rapids resident Dustin Witkofsky said he thinks a lot of the community anger is coming from a feeling that Second Harvest did not address that action more directly.
Food shelf volunteers previously told KAXE they were concerned with Second Harvest’s transparency around the food bank closure. One of those volunteers was Tammy Pluym, who attended the meeting.
“I still have my doubts that they’re going to be able to provide the same quality of service as they had when the food bank was still located in Grand Rapids,” she told KAXE Wednesday. “But time will tell.”
Pluym said the meeting was helpful, but she wishes it had happened sooner.
She said it was reassuring to hear from Sue Estee, the former director of the Grand Rapids branch of Second Harvest. The merger was part of the succession plan after Estee retired.
“She seemed to be very passionate, and the fact that she thinks this is the right direction for the food shelf gave me some assurance that the food shelf will stay in operation,” Pluym said.
‘How do we feed and nourish our community?’
A couple of hours before the Second Harvest meeting, another group gathered on the lawn of Old Central School to eat pizza.
The informal meeting and meal was led by Itasca Pride and the arts and advocacy group Fire in the Village. Organizers said there was also support from other organizations.
About a dozen people discussed the question of how to feed the community, throwing out ideas of a little free food shelf or a freedom fridge.
Fire in the Village’s Annie Humphrey said the solutions to a lot of problems don’t exist yet.
“And the only way we can find them is to get together like this and talk about them and figure it out,” she told the group.
This was the first of many discussions about how to address community needs with a focus on meeting people where they are and building connections. They decided a weekly community meal, Tuesdays at noon at Old Central School, is a start.
Pluym likes the idea of community members coming together to provide more resources.
“We can’t rely on just one source of food or anything else, especially in these changing times,” she said.
Pluym said she's excited about helping with the new efforts — and continuing to volunteer at the food shelf.
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