White Bear Area Food Shelf to get 2nd home

The White Bear Area Food Shelf will open a second market at 2446 County Road F East, near the Normandy Park Education Center, in the space vacated by Garden of Hope Montessori, White Bear Drapery, and the White Bear Lake Area Schools. The property is owned by the City of White Bear Lake and also houses the White Bear Dance Center and Suburban Community Channels.

For 46 years, the White Bear Area Food Shelf has served the community of White Bear Lake and the communities within The White Bear Area School dicstrict. It will now open at a second location.

Executive Director Perry Petersen said the former public works building that houses the food shelf, located at 1884 Whitaker St., doesn’t provide enough room for the food shelf to meet the growing needs of the community. The leased space is used for offices, warehousing, and preparation and distribution of food through a curbside pickup program.

“We have doubled the number of people that we’ve served in a year,” Petersen said. “In the last couple of months, we’ve seen a 21% increase in visits to the food shelf. This is due to inflation and to pre-pandemic levels of SNAP benefits, which is a traditional food stamp program for people.”

According to Rick Juba, assistant city manager, the second location will be at 2446 County Road F East. The city owns the property, which currently houses the White Bear Dance Center, Suburban Community Channels and a Comcast Fiber hub. There are currently two vacant spaces that were formerly occupied by White Bear Drapery, Garden of Hope Montessori School and the White Bear Lake Area School District. The food shelf plans to lease the two vacant spaces for food distribution to serve area neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity.

“We’re ready to step up to the challenge,” Petersen said. “One of the innovative steps that we’re taking is a community market at this location. The community market will look and feel like a neighborhood market with low barriers, expanded culturally connected foods, and offices to host nonprofits that partner with us to specialize in wraparound services such as rental assistance, utility systems, access to programs for young families and seniors … just to name a few.”

Juba noted the food shelf will be responsible for all operating costs. Part of the remodeling will require a significant upgrade to the HVAC system. While this upgrade is being triggered by the food shelf’s needs, the current system is nearing the end of its useful life and the new system will be owned by the city. Juba said the food shelf will pay for the HVAC upgrade up front, but the associated costs are being credited against the monthly lease amount over the three-year term of the lease.

“The proposed lease is a three-year agreement, and it’s for about 3,040 square feet,” Juba said. “The proposed rate has been reduced from the market rate for that building to reflect improvements that the food shelf is making that the city would have otherwise had to make involving the rooftop units.”

The lease will be effective Sept. 1 and end Aug. 31, 2026.

The new facility will have 45 parking spots compared to 13 at the Whitaker location. It will also have expanded hours.

“This market will really focus on fresh items,” Petersen said. “Forty percent of our food that we distribute is food that we rescue from local grocery stores. So a lot of what we do as a redistribution within our community is just making sure that food doesn’t go to waste. The food shelf doesn’t serve nameless people. It makes a real difference in the lives of our neighbors and our community.”

Mayor Dan Louismet said he is thankful for the work the food shelf does for the community.

“I wish we weren’t sitting here saying that there’s a need for expansion,” Louismet said. “I’m grateful that you have the resources and the community has the appetite to make the donations to allow this and make this possible. I had an opportunity to tour the food shelf, and it’s a fantastically well-run organization filled with very dedicated volunteers and staff.”

For more information, visit whitebearfoodshelf.org.

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