NW Minn. food shelf closes temporarily

Hunger relief leaders in the Thief River Falls area are looking for new ways to help those in need, after a food shelf unexpectedly closed.

Officials with the Thief River Falls Area Food Shelf announced last week that they were shutting down temporarily, due to concerns about finances and mismanagement.

Susie Novak, the executive director of the North Country Food Bank, said it's one of the largest in the region and serves all of Pennington County.

"This is going to have significant impact," said Novak, whose organization supplied the food shelf. "We've really been scrambling to try to figure out how we're going to handle it so we can avoid any lapse in service."

Novak is working with the food staff board and others to get food to those who need it.

"This is just a community that we can't let go without food," Novak said. "There are too many people served by this food shelf to just not supplement that somehow."

Mobile food drops will likely start next week. The food shelf plans to reorganize, and hopes to reopen in September.