An Overnight Response To Fight Local Child Hunger

A Pallet Rack Solution For Those In Need

Food banks are feeling the crush. In this time of need, many Americans in need are turning to their local food shelves, food banks, and shelters, thus necessitating the demand for more shipments of food and quick pallet rack storage solutions.

Finished Project for The Sheridan Story

The Sheridan Story in Roseville, Minn. was in that situation. There were literally tons of food to be delivered in a matter of days. This is where AK came to help.

“Once schools closed down, it triggered a massive response on our part,” said Rob Williams, Founder and Executive Director of The Sheridan Story.

From March 15-19, The Sheridan Story distributed over 44,000 food bags, containing more than 168,000 meals to children and families affected by Coronavirus-related school closures in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Their total efforts are one of the largest non-governmental responses to the Coronavirus in Minnesota.

Rob Williams

“We have 6 semi-trucks of food en route to pack 80,000 bags and more coming after that,” said Williams. “We’ll move 500,000 to 750,000 meals through our warehouse in the next few months, and the pallet racking is a super important component of that.”
With the surplus of shipment and little time to create storage space needed, Williams reached out to AK after working with Senior Design Specialist Jerry Fredrickson on past projects.

With the surplus of shipment and little time to create storage space needed, Williams reached out to AK after working with Senior Design Specialist Jerry Fredrickson on past projects.

“With [multiple shipments] we saw the need for additional storage and racking. We called at the end of the day on Wednesday, and the materials and installation team were here on Friday,” said Williams. “We have a pretty sophisticated inventory process and the racking allows us to add the square footage on top of our existing storage.”

AK’s relationship with The Sheridan Story dates back to 2015, with the installation of a pushback racking system in their new warehouse. Over the years, AK has outfitted the warehouse with a variety of racking and storage.

“We were referred by another customer who had a great experience,” said Williams. “We had great communication throughout our projects and that is a reason we keep coming back to AK,” he added.

Senior Design Specialist Jerry Fredrickson

“Obviously what we are seeing in the World is unprecedented,” said Fredrickson. “This sort of work is extra satisfying to us, knowing what our pallet racking is helping this group accomplish.”

In a time where there is an immediate need, AK is ready to step in and get the job done fast.
“This is not the first time that we have had urgent projects that needed to be completed, and it certainly won’t be the last,” said Fredrickson. “This is something we take pride in and hope we can be of service to anybody that needs something like this at this time and in the future.”

If you have an immediate need for storage systems or design layout, please contact us at 800-722-5908 or email us.