The impact of the Flourish Food Market,
Minnesota’s first plant-based food shelf

Written by Ron Kimilinger

I am happy to have Logisolve once again be a 2025 sponsor to Flourish Placemaking – formerly Ace in the City). Logisolve has partnered with Flourish / Ace for the past nine years and continue to enjoy ways to work together.

Flourish Placemaking runs the first-of-its-kind in Minnesota,plant-based food market with the Flourish Food Market out of their Center of Belonging. Logisolve volunteers help staff thefood shelf on the first Wednesday of each month (see volunteer sign up information below).

This week, I had the opportunity to connect with Matt Anderson (Associate Director, Flourish Placemaking) and Steve Thompson (Program Coordinator for the Flourish Food Shelf) about the food shelf and how it has impacted their community around the Center of Belonging in Minneapolis.

Question #1) Can you give us an overview of the Flourish Food Market and
your growth over the past few years?
The Flourish Food Market was established in 2020, during the peak of the pandemic and the uprising following George Floyd’s murder, in an attempt to meet a very real community need for fresh and healthy food. From the very beginning, it has held a unique position as Minnesota’s first fully plant-based food shelf. The work started with a few pop-up food distributions in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood before evolving into a food shelf. In the fall of 2020, we piloted a weekly food delivery to a group of 15-20 families in Minneapolis, as it was not yet safe to open a food shelf to in-person shopping. Finally, in 2021 we fully launched the Flourish Food Market to in-person shopping. For the first few years, the market served 20-30 households each week. Over the last two years, that number has nearly tripled, as we now serve roughly 70 households every week.

Question #2) Has your goals for the food shelf changed for this year?
Our greatest desire is to always be in a position where we can meet the needs of our neighbors every week as they arrive to shop for free fresh and healthy food. The reality is that—because of the rapid growth in the number of households we serve each week and the rising costs of food over the last few years—the financial sustainability of the market has become a challenge. As a result, our primary goal for 2025 is to cultivate sustainable sources of funding so that we can not only keep the market open, but also grow its impact even further.

Questions #3) How has the food shelf helped the community?
One of the most common refrains across the country since the pandemic has been the struggle to afford groceries. Many who shop at the Flourish Food Market have shared that it has made a huge difference for them and for their families—easing their financial burden by providing free access to things like fresh produce, which can be challenging to afford on an ongoing basis.

Many of the neighbors who visit the market have dietary restrictions or eat a plant-based diet, and we frequently hear what a gift it is to have a place like this where they can shop safely, knowing that the food provided will fit within their dietary needs.

While almost half of those served live in the immediately surrounding neighborhoods, the Flourish Food Market has served people from 52 different zip codes over the past year—from all over the Twin Cities metro (and beyond!).

I encourage everyone on our Logisolve team to help with the Flourish Food Shelf on the first Wednesday of each month. We have two shifts each Wednesday (11am – 1pm Setup, 1pm -3pm Food Shelf). You can email Ron.Kimlinger@Logisolve.com to sign up. The food shelf is located the Flourish Center of Belonging, 3501 Aldrich Ave S, Minneapolis MN 55408

Logisolve is proud to continue its partnership with Flourish Food Market by hosting monthly volunteer opportunities. Join us on the first Wednesday of each month for one of two shifts: 11:00 AM–1:00 PM or 1:00 PM–3:30 PM. If you’re interested in participating, please reach out to Ron Kimlinger at rkimlinger@logisolve.com. We are excited to strengthen this meaningful collaboration with the Center of Belonging organization and make a positive impact together.

Looking for your next opportunity? At Logisolve, we have a variety of contract and contract-to-hire roles available across all our capabilities. If you’re interested or know someone who is, please reach out to us at referrals@logisolve.com. We’d love to connect!