Great Plains Food Bank today celebrated the start of construction on a new statewide distribution center in Fargo. This marks a significant milestone in the Great Plains Food Bank’s Harvesting Hope Campaign, a capital campaign to build critical infrastructure and expand hunger-relief efforts across North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota.
Great Plains Food Bank currently served more than 167,000 individuals in 2025 across 54 counties, an 11% increase from 2024, as food insecurity continues to impact families, children, seniors, veterans, and working households throughout the region.
“The need right now is incredibly high,” said Ann Prifrel, CEO of Great Plains Food Bank. “Families are facing difficult choices every day, and many communities continue to see a growing demand for food assistance. This facility will allow us to respond to that need by creating the infrastructure to serve more people, in more communities, more frequently, and more efficiently.”
Great Plains Food Bank has operated out of its current Fargo distribution center since 2000. Over the past several years, the organization has outgrown the facility, relying on costly offsite storage and temporary trailer storage while facing ongoing operational and infrastructure limitations that restrict future growth.
“It became clear that while our mission continues to grow, our facility could not keep pace,” Prifrel said.
The new 70,500-square-foot statewide distribution center, located at 3315 Westrac Drive, will increase warehouse capacity by 57%, significantly expanding the organization’s ability to accept, store, and distribute food across its service region. The facility will include expanded warehouse and pallet storage capacity, increased cooler and freezer space for fresh and nutritious foods, and additional loading docks for improved transportation efficiencies.
The new building is designed to modernize and strengthen the Great Plains Food Bank’s operations while improving efficiency across its network of nearly 200 partner agencies, pantries, shelters, and meal programs.
“This facility will become the foundation that supports our evolving mission for decades to come,” Prifrel continued. “While these walls will expand our physical capacity, it’s the work happening across communities throughout North Dakota and Clay County that will truly define its impact. It will allow us to go further and deeper into communities, strengthen local partnerships, and respond to hunger in more innovative and community-centered ways.”
The facility is expected to open in fall 2027.
To learn more about the Harvesting Hope Campaign or support the project, visit GreatPlainsFoodBank.org/HarvestingHope.
