Expanding our Mission in Southern Minnesota: HEART's Newest Distribution Center

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Three, two, one! HEART's Faribault Lead Volunteers cut the ribbon at our newest facility at 201 Lyndale Avenue South, Faribault, on June 18th, 2026.

For years, HEART and Hosanna Church Northfield have partnered with nonprofits, community leaders, and local agencies throughout Rice County to help meet the needs of local families. Now, with the opening of a permanent HEART Distribution Center in Faribault, that work has a new home and new opportunities to grow.

On June 18th, those community members, county employees, nonprofit partners, volunteers and supporters gathered to celebrate that milestone with a Grand Opening for our new Faribault HEART Distribution Center. For those of us at HEART, this doesn't just represent a physical space: it's an increased opportunity to serve in Rice County as well as continuing to strengthen our work in Scott County.

HEART has had a presence in Faribault for several years, pairing with area organizations and government entities to serve local families. The dedicated team in Faribault has worked closely with community leaders to determine what families and individuals need, and then meeting those needs.

Opening a permanent location in Faribault that is accessible to all is the next step in a relationship that has been nurtured for years. That commitment has made a difference for local organizations. Becky Ford of the Community Action Center in Faribault and Northfield shared, "Our partnership with HEART allows our staff to meet...basic needs while offering kindness and hope!"

With this new location, HEART can do so much more for the community. Though smaller than the Shakopee location, the Faribault facility offers many of the same services and opportunities. Nonprofit partners are able to "shop" for donations that their clients need in the 1000-square-foot shopping space. Because of the second location, we are able to bridge the gap between surplus and the needs of Rice County even more effectively than before.

For our Rice County partners, this means efficiency - increased access to donated goods, shorter travel times, and easier pickups and logistics. HEART can support more nonprofits than ever before.

Even fun stuff is ready for donation! Stuffed animals wait for distribution to nonprofit partners in the Faribault Distribution Center

And all this sounds very good from a logistics standpoint - we are able to do the job better and faster and with more impact. But that's just it - it's the impact that really matters to us. We redistribute goods to all these nonprofits and individuals in need because we know that when a person has their basic needs met, it elevates their perspective. A person with clean clothing, food to spare and a safe place to sleep can set their sights on more than survival and learn how to thrive.

And while HEART can't support everyone on our own, with the support of every nonprofit, together we can make a difference and transform our communities into great places to live, work, and play.

All of us at HEART want to thank all of our generous donors - those who give financially and those who donate products that ultimately reach our nonprofit partners and the people they serve. We cannot do this without your support and your buy-in to what HEART is all about.

Thank you, too, to all the HEART volunteers who have tirelessly torn down walls, built them back up, painted them, and then waited for the next project to make our new space in Faribault. To the volunteers who hauled shelving, put it up, created ingenious solutions to small-space warehousing, and returned the next week to sort out socks and underwear, thank you.

To the volunteers and staff in Shakopee that guided, advised and helped make this happen, we thank you as well.

And to our local community in Faribault that has supported us and even showed up in the middle of a Thursday afternoon to celebrate us, thank you!