Second Harvest buys IKONICS building in Morgan Park

A big investment in the future of Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. They have purchased the former IKONICS building in Morgan Park.

Shaye Moris, executive director, met us out there on Thursday. “We started exploring the need for a new building in 2019, but then COVID happened. But now, we’re happy to have acquired this new facility. And at some point, we’ll move into it.”

They will have to do some fundraising to refurbish the building to suit their needs. But it is more than double what they have now. “There’s certainly some work ahead. It will be quite some time before we can move in. But there will be dedicated space for our programs,” Moris said.

As for their longtime presence in the Airpark, Moris said they’ve been in discussions with their partners about how to keep services over the hill. But this new opportunity means they can better serve new neighborhoods, like Morgan Park.

COVID really showed the need for a bigger facility, and the need for food access is only growing.

IKONICS broke ground on the building in 2015.