A north Minneapolis food shelf that has served thousands of families, including many newly arrived Ecuadorian refugees, has closed so it can sort through its problems with the IRS.
Camden Collective shut down most of its programming on June 29, including its weekly food distribution. It has supported more than 25,000 people so far this year and had been on track to surpass last year’s number by nearly 20%.
But founder and director Anna Gerdeen said she decided to shut down after the food shelf became stuck in a bureaucratic limbo of nonprofit filing issues, eventually leading to the loss of its tax-exempt status in December.
“It’s going to be hard,” Gerdeen said. “It’s going to be a loss for the community, and not just [because of the] food. It was a gathering place.”
In the meantime, she said, she will be reapplying for tax-exempt status for the food shelf, which served 43,000 people in 2023.
Gerdeen announced the decision to close the food shelf in an emotional speech during business hours. “Everyone was so kind and so sweet and supportive and sad,” she told Sahan Journal.