More Building, More Impact

This January, Every Meal celebrates a BIG moment in our future to fight child hunger in Minnesota: we have officially purchased the building that we’ve been partially occupying for seven years.

This purchase will effectively double Every Meal’s space and better allow us to fulfill our purpose of providing Minnesota kids with good food during the weekends. We want to center this momentous news on why we purchased the building and take you briefly to our early days.

The above photo is of our very first “facility” where we stored food to feed 27 kindergarteners at Las Estrellas (formerly Sheridan) Elementary School in Northeast Minneapolis. All of this began as an idea to meet a specific need – the school principal said there were hungry kids and we wanted to do something to help.

We started serving more kids, and then more schools. We added more volunteers, and then more staff. More food, more space, more fundraising, more program impact.

Now we provide food to over 12,000 kids in more than 450 schools and are at the point where we need to expand our physical space to do even more. The reality is that there are still a lot of bellies that are rumbling over the weekends. We’ve seen an increase of 28.6% of kids needing food support compared to the 2021-2022 school year and there’s been a 45% increase in schools joining our waiting list, totaling 171.

We do more because there is undeniably more to do. We do more because we believe that Every Child should have Every Meal. (That’s entrenched in our vision statement.)

Today Every Meal celebrates the purchase of a building that will allow us to do just that – more. Over the past three years, we’ve thoughtfully considered various options, and purchasing a building was the best long-term financial and strategic decision. It will lower our overall operation cost and increase our program impact. This building is part of a larger vision and movement to address the needs of our community sustainably. We’re in the early stages of a campaign intended to respond to the growing needs while ensuring a sustainable future.

Rendering credit: Cuningham

This rendering is a glimpse into our 68,000-square-foot building and future. Along with excitement, we feel tremendous gratitude. Thanks to a grant from the State of Minnesota, a generous anonymous donor, and a short-term loan through Minnesota Lakes Bank we were able to reach this major milestone.

There is a lot to give thanks for in getting us to this point, and this is only the beginning of more to come. To learn more and see our current space, attend our Open House on January 24th from 4:00-5:30 PM. Please continue supporting our work by making a donation, volunteering your time, spreading the word, and showing up for our kids. We are proud to be in this work alongside you.