New Great Plains Food Bank Distribution Center (KFGO News Photo / Nate Coen)
FARGO (KFGO) – Great Plains Food Bank is celebrating a milestone in the construction of its new statewide distribution center. The more than 70,000-square-foot facility now has all four walls in place. The facility will cost more than $30 million and is expected to open in the summer of 2027.
Great Plains Food Bank says it’s serving one in four people in the network it serves, and one in three of those seeking assistance are children. CEO Ann Prifrel says with Great Plains Food Bank serving a record number of requests, the new facility will be a big help. The old facility for Great Plains Food Bank is 25 years old.
“The need is growing, our current facility is outdated, inefficient, and is not designed to meet this growing need for food.” Prifrel said.
Great Plains Food Bank CEO Ann Prifrel in front of the food bank’s new statewide distribution center (KFGO News Photo / Nate Coen)
One goal of the new facility is improving the efficiency of service for the network, which ranges across the state of North Dakota and into Minnesota’s Clay County.
“We’ll have more dock doors so that we can move and receive more food, that’ll be a big one. In addition, we’ll have additional cooler capacity and freezer capacity so we will be able to source more food from our local farmers, and it’s just simply designed for a food bank. Prifrel said.
Prifrel says they’ve raised three quarters of the funding needed. She is excited and grateful for the support, but says the job is not finished.
“We still need funding to get us across the finish line in order to be able to have the project fully funded, so we have about 25 percent more dollars that’s needed to be raised for this $30 million dollar project.” Prifrel said.
The land where the new food bank will be built includes space for expansion if the demand for food assistance outgrows the capacity of the new distribution space.
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