North Minneapolis community store Aldi's closure forces council of churches to rethink food security

Aldi’s closure brings worries to non-profit and church food shelves. Image: Amina Filkins|Pexels

On Sunday, the Aldi grocery shop in North Minneapolis permanently shut its doors, a Star Tribune report revealed. Since it provided handy and inexpensive goods that even the poorest people could afford, community residents and leaders were unhappy with the closure.

Consequently, the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches' executive director, Adrienne Dorn, stressed the need to ensure security in the area as a top priority.

Death, Hunger

The feeding programs run by the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches serve the South Minneapolis area.

According to Adrienne Dorn, death is connected to a lack of food and resources, and people must take urgent action. Because people might go hungry, she advocates systemic and policy reform to ensure food security.

Tasha Powell, a resident of north Minneapolis and the co-founder and president of Appetite For Change, shared that the shutdown will significantly impact her great-aunt. Her great-aunt enjoys walking, and the 78-year-old was close to the Penn Avenue Aldi branch.

According to the Star Tribune report, Powell explained that people need to eat to survive and voiced her disappointment at the closure.

Although upset about the closing, Dorn informed Powell that she was not surprised. She asked Powell whether it's best to provide organizations with a check to address the food insecurity in nearby communities. Powell gave her a positive answer.

Every new obstacle, logistical headache, and gap between citizens and their fundamental requirements makes it harder to lead a healthy life. The closing of Aldi may result in the deaths of some people.

Facing Challenges to Continue Helping

As food insecurity is anticipated, the shutdown of Aldi puts non-profits under pressure to fill the gaps. As the closure notice was confirmed, Anna Gerdeen, the creator of Camden Collective housed in Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church's basement, is now working overtime.

CBS News said thousands of northside families were already served each month by the program in the church's basement.

Every Saturday for two hours, it is open. The food shelf has yet to turn anyone away, according to Gerdeen, but some weeks they can distribute more than others.

She thinks the situation is uncertain now that the most affordable grocery store in the neighborhood is closing.

One of the people in line at the food shelf, DeMarlo Andrews, said they would find it challenging. He is grateful that Camden Collective exists because they are aware of the need for them, particularly at this time.

An Unfortunate Closure

Aldi isn't the only store that announced closure; Walgreens in Minneapolis at Broadway and Lyndale Avenues will also stop operations on Feb. 22. These closures will impact thousands of people because they rely on these outlets for their groceries and prescription drugs.

Axios.com says across the nation are the stores of the German retailer Aldi. It receives a lot of traffic and is among the lowest 20%.

According to D'Angelos Svenkeson, CEO of the real estate company NEOO Partners, the decision to close the businesses was decided corporately. He is conscious that it is an unfortunate choice that could short-term hurt many of the community's citizens.