Roseville-based nonprofit Every Meal today announced it has acquired the 68,000 square foot building it has been using for seven years. The nonprofit, which has been leasing a portion of the building since 2016 from Link Logistics, the largest U.S.-only owner and operator of last-mile industrial real estate is purchasing the entire building, adding 25,000 square feet. This expansion will effectively double Every Meal’s volunteer, food storage, and food delivery space and better allow it to fulfill its purpose of providing 12,000 Minnesota kids with food during the weekends.

“This is not an expansion for the sake of expanding, which Link Logistics truly understands as one of our community partners who contributed a $160,000 infrastructure grant to make a true impact in the lives of hungry Minnesota kids,” said Rob Williams, Every Meal President. “We keep growing because there are still kids who are hungry. We do more because we believe that every child should have every meal.” Every Child. Every Meal. Is the organization’s vision statement.

By expanding its facility, Every Meal, which serves kids in more than 450 schools but also has 171 schools currently on its waitlist, will be able to respond more effectively to the increasing demand for its services. Furthermore, the building will be redesigned for maximum warehouse efficiency, improving the organization’s operations and services to the children they serve.

Every Meal financed the acquisition thanks to generous donors, a grant from the State of Minnesota, and a short-term loan through Minnesota Lakes Bank. Forte Real Estate Partners helped the nonprofit in its two-year search to find suitable office-warehouse space to acquire. The Roseville area was the target for Every Meal’s search due to the location of employees, volunteers, and easy access to freeways.

“Often, landlords won’t entertain offers from tenants to purchase its building. But in this case, we were able to begin conversations with Link Logistics very early in our evaluation process which provided both parties the appropriate time to gain approvals within their respective organizations.,” said Dan Lofgren, Senior Vice President – Real Estate Advisory. “The attributes of the facility are an ideal fit for Every Meal to continue its mission of fighting child hunger.”

More than 300,000 Minnesota children face food insecurity on any given night, especially on weekends when they don’t have access to school meal programs. Every week during the school year, students enrolled in Every Meal’s Weekend Meal Program receive food bags containing 4-5 pounds of a variety of shelf-stable fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains to have enough food for the weekend.

About Every Meal

Every Meal is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger. We focus on filling the food gaps children face especially on weekends when they’re not able to access school meal programs. Through our food gap programs, we provide children and families experiencing food insecurity with access to good food at more than 500 locations in Minnesota. Learn more and get involved at everymeal.org.