SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – On January 1st, the Hy-Vee on 10th and Kiwanis Avenue in Sioux Falls will permanently close its doors. The next closest supermarket is more than a mile away.

In an email, Tina Potthoff, the Senior Vice President of Communications for Hy-Vee says this building will be turned into a non-retail facility within the company. It will have two sections, one dedicated to making bakery products and another to serve as a local pharmacy fulfillment center. And no groceries for customers.

For some people who live nearby, the closure could produce hardships.

“If you don’t have the means to stretch your dollar for your grocery budget and with the rising cost of food and gas, you likely don’t have the ability to drive even further to get that food,” Lori Dykstra, CEO of Feeding South Dakota, said.

Dykstra says the neighborhoods around 10th and Kiwanis are already hotspots for food insecurity.

“We have a mobile distribution just a few blocks away at a church, Point to Serve church,” Dykstra said. “We know that that area is, that we serve it regularly. But we’re going to keep an eye on it and if this closure does cause some sort of larger hardship, we’ll make sure that we evaluate whether or not we need more mobiles or another site or possibly another day throughout the month.”

Dykstra says the entire city of Sioux Falls is seeing a rise in food insecurity as it is. About 15-to 20 percent more people have been showing up for their 14 mobile distributions.

“We are hearing that that’s due to the rising cost of groceries and gas prices,” Dykstra said. “If you’ve been to a grocery store, you can see right now, the prices are definitely higher. So, families are stretching those dollars even further right now.”

She says anyone who is worried about getting food should contact Feeding South Dakota or call the Helpline Center at 211.

As for the current employees of the 10th street Hy-Vee, the company says they will be offered positions at the same rate of pay in another area Hy-Vee store.

Here is Potthoff’s full statement on behalf of Hy-Vee:

We are closing the Kiwanis Avenue Hy-Vee permanently at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. Each employee will be offered a position in another Hy-Vee store in the Sioux Falls area, at the same rate of pay and will retain all their existing benefits. Kiwanis Avenue Hy-Vee Pharmacy patients will receive additional information in the mail in the coming days about their prescriptions and instructions on how to transfer to another pharmacy if they choose. We plan to repurpose this space as a non-retail Hy-Vee facility in the coming months. The facility will primary focus on two things: making bakery products in one section of the facility while another section will serve as a local pharmacy fulfillment center so that certain (not all) prescriptions can be filled in a timely fashion and then delivered to local stores, therefore allowing our retail pharmacists more time to spend consulting and helping our customers in need.

Customers who live in this area can still place delivery orders via our Aisles Online service and we will continue to service this area of the community to fulfill their grocery needs. We continue to be committed to serving customers in Sioux Falls, and look forward to welcoming Kiwanis Avenue Hy-Vee customers to one of our other area stores.

Tina Potthoff, Senior Vice President of Communications for Hy-Vee Inc.