Halal food shelf opens in southwest Minnesota to serve growing Muslim community

For the nearly 40 families who visited the newest food shelf in Willmar, Minn., the bags of onions, potatoes and milk came with a welcome guarantee: Everything was halal and conforming to their faith.

The Community Connector Services Halal Food Shelf, which opened Friday, hopes to meet the needs of Willmar’s growing East African population.

“We’re trying to support the community,” said Abdifatah Mohamed, executive director of Community Connector Services.

Willmar, a city of nearly 20,000 two hours west of Minneapolis, has seen a growing number of Somali immigrants, drawn by jobs at the Jennie-O meatpacking plants.

Along with produce, milk and flour offered, Mohamed said he hopes he can provide beans, sugar and salt as the food shelf expands.

Seeing almost 40 families visiting the halal food shelf during its opening weekend made him emotional, he said.

“It was so beautiful, I was so happy and glad that we could distribute food to 40 families,” Mohamed said. “The world is getting expensive.”

Second Harvest Heartland, which is supporting the halal food shelf in Willmar, says 1 in 5 households in Minnesota struggled to get enough food. That number rises to 2 in 5 for households of color.

Ethan Neal, the organization’s director of partner operations, said this new halal food shelf “represents a step in making more food more accessible to members of the community.”

Halal means the meat offerings have been prepared as prescribed by Muslim law.