Sioux Falls Thrive President Michelle Erpenbach (front row, third from left) poses with Thrive board members and staff at a recent meeting.
After seven years as the community’s designated cradle-to-career workforce development initiative, Sioux Falls Thrive announces it will be closing its operations effective Sept. 30.
Since its founding, Thrive has been a collaborative force in the Sioux Falls community, partnering with churches, community organizations, businesses, nonprofits, individual stakeholders, and local government using a unique collective impact model. The organization’s focus has been three-fold: food security,affordable housing, and out-of-school enrichment.
Collective Impact Drives Solutions
This community-driven approach allowed Thrive to unite existing resources, subject matter experts, and residents directly affected by local challenges. By fostering deep collaboration, mutual accountability, and meaningful community engagement, Thrive has addressed complex issues not in isolation but through a shared commitment to collective solutions. Program launches included:
- Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market, the first affordable grocery store on wheels in South Dakota.
- Kid Link Initiative, which became the foundation for the school district’s Community Learning Centers.
- Food Rescue 605, a community-based system for reducing food waste and increasing access to nutritious meals.
- Sioux Falls Youth Connect, a website that supports youth, parents and educators in connecting teens to community-based activities.
- The Community Housing Education and Resource Fair, a free, two-track course designed to provide participants with information on the homebuying process or renter rights and responsibilities.
- Advocacy for the creation of an Affordable Housing Fund using local tax dollars to support new and rehabilitated housing projects.
- The community’s first Housing Retention Specialist, now housed at East River Legal Services.
- One Roof, a program of The Community Outreach that supports at-risk tenants.
Read about more about Sioux Falls Thrive’s recent initiatives in our 2025 Report to the Community.
Financial Sustainability Issues Create Challenges
However, 2024 and 2025 presented significant challenges both for Thrive and the broader Sioux Falls community. A critical hurdle has been the ongoing struggle to secure long-term financial sustainability for the Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market, a cornerstone initiative in Thrive’s food access strategy. The Mobile Market closed in June 2025.
Despite diligent efforts and strong community support, these financial pressures have made it increasingly difficult for Thrive to maintain operations at the scale and quality the community expects and deserves.