House Ag Committee Hears Request for State Match to Expand Great Plains Food Bank Distribution Center

Representative Brandy Pyle, sponsor of House Bill 1143, asked the House Agriculture Committee to recommend a one-time state appropriation to match private funds for a larger, modern statewide distribution facility for the Great Plains Food Bank.

The bill, described by proponents as an infrastructure investment, would provide a state grant program administered by the Agriculture Commissioner to help construct a new distribution center that supporters say will expand capacity statewide. "This bill represents an infrastructure investment that will serve the backbone to every county in the state," Representative Pyle said.

Melissa Sobolik, chief executive officer of the Great Plains Food Bank, told the committee the organization operates North Dakota’s only food bank and that demand has increased sharply. "Last year alone, more than 156,000 North Dakotans visited a food pantry or a soup kitchen," Sobolik said, adding that the food bank distributed nearly £16,000,000 of food in 2024 and runs mobile pantries, school and senior programs statewide.

Sobolik described the proposed facility as a 70,000-square-foot building that would expand warehouse space by 57%, increase freezer/cooler capacity and add six loading docks, room for 100 volunteers at a time, ADA compliance and an allergen repack room. She said a comprehensive assessment found the current Fargo site is built on an old landfill, has roof, HVAC and electrical problems, lacks sufficient parking and is already at capacity.

Testimony presented a project budget and fundraising plan: a total project cost of $30,500,000 (including a 5% three‑year construction inflation allowance); existing fundraising and commitments that together account for roughly a third of that total; a $2,000,000 Community Development Block Grant COVID (CDBG‑CV) award through the Department of Commerce; $900,000 from board reserves; an estimated $2,500,000 sale of the current facility (expected to generate about $4,500,000 via New Markets Tax Credits); and $936,000 in private contributions raised to date. Sobolik said that, after those items, the campaign still faced a remaining fundraising gap of about $2,000,000 and that the bill’s state match would be dollar‑for‑dollar with privately raised dollars.

Committee members asked whether the state appropriation amount was targeted to in‑state construction contracts and whether Fargo was the right geographic location. Representative Pyle said the planned site is in Fargo and that organizers expect most contractors to be North Dakotans; Sobolik said Fargo was chosen for highway access (I‑29 and I‑94), proximity to donors and existing logistics and because the new site (3315 West Track Drive) is on nearly nine acres sold to the food bank in October 2024.

Representatives of local partners, nonprofit recipients and funders emphasized statewide impact. Representative Steve Swantek noted that more than 95% of the cities receiving food from Great Plains Food Bank are outside Cass County and that about 21% of distributed food goes west of Highway 83. Jim Barnhart of Dream Center Bismarck and Shirley Kilzer of the AMEN Food Pantry described reliance on Great Plains Food Bank supplies for local meal programs.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture and North Dakota Farmers Union and North Dakota Stockmen’s Association voiced support; John Schneider, representing the Agriculture Commissioner’s office, described past state and federal programs administered through the commissioner and said the commissioner supports the bill.

Committee members pressed for operational details: Sobolik said 61% of food handled is donated, 25% comes from USDA federal commodities, under 1% from food drives and roughly 14% is purchased; she said transportation, food costs and distribution dominate program spending and that 96% of funds go to programs and services. She also said the organization expects to break ground in early 2027 if the fundraising and matching appropriation proceed as planned.

The hearing record included inconsistent references to the size of the state appropriation during testimony: Representative Holly asked whether a "$10,000,000" appropriation would require North Dakota contractors, while John Schneider later described the bill as providing an "$11,000,000 appropriation." The bill text as read at the hearing was characterized generically as an appropriation to the Agriculture Commissioner for a food distribution facility grant program; the committee did not vote on the measure during the hearing.

Discussion-only items, clarifying figures and next steps: testimony repeatedly described the request as a dollar-for-dollar matching grant that would be drawn down as private funds are raised and administered by the Department of Agriculture; supporters asked the committee for a "do pass" recommendation to move the bill forward. No formal motion or vote was recorded in the hearing transcript.

Ending: Proponents asked the committee to support House Bill 1143 and said the facility would increase capacity and resilience of hunger relief across all 53 counties; the hearing record closes with multiple organizations offering written materials and volunteers available to answer follow-up questions.