March is Foodshare Month for Friends in Need

Last modified on 2011-02-02 23:41:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I want to update you on what’s been happening at the Friends in Need Food Shelf and what is coming up in the next few months. Minnesota FoodShare makes March a very important month for us. The food, toiletries and money that we receive in the month of March are partially matched by Minnesota FoodShare and the Feinstein Foundation.

This past year, we experienced our highest client numbers ever! We served over 26,000 people and gave out over 1,200,ooo pounds of food. We had 378 new families who have never had to use a food shelf before. We find that the most common reasons clients come here are sudden loss of employment and health issues. We are giving out more food than ever, and we really need your continued support.

If your church, school or business would like to do a cash or toiletry drive, we would be glad to work with you and give you suggestions of needed items. If your group wants to do a drive, we suggest toiletries instead of food as we don’t need to worry about expiration dates. We will be happy to pick up large donations, or items can be brought to the Food Shelf on any Tuesday between 7:30am and 6:30pm. In addition, we have a drop box open 24 hours a day in the exit foyer at Cub in Cottage Grove. Please call us at (651) 458-0730 for more information.

If you would like to send a check, please mail it to Friends in Need, P.O. Box 6 Cottage Grove, MN 55016. As most of your know, money is much more helpful than food donations as we purchase thousands of dollars of food every month through Second Harvest, where we are able to get much better deals than an individual can at the grocery store. Please make sure your money comes to us during the month of March if you want it to count toward FoodShare and the Feinstein Challenge.

Please check out our updated website at www.friendsinneedfoodshelf.org. Our site also has our current job list, media links, and referrals to other agencies for things like help with foreclosures, Xcel Energy bills and rent. You can also donate online with a credit card. You can even ask questions and leave comments. We are also now on Facebook, so feel free to become a fan!

We are going to be starting a Planned Giving Program so that donors have the opportunity to include Friends in Need in their estate planning. Please give us a call for details.

We want to thank everyone for their wonderful support of our Share the Joy program this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. With your help, we were able to serve 450 families for Thanksgiving and over 578 families for Christmas. We also want to thank all of those who helped make the Holiday Train such a success (even though the train itself was cancelled because of the blizzard). Over $72,000 and thousands of pounds of food were collected for the Food Shelf (mostly from pledges ahead of time). We are so happy that this has become an annual event and we appreciate all of the work that goes into it on our behalf. Once again, Cottage Grove was one of the top two stops with the highest donations!

Everyone is invited to our Annual Open house here at the Food Shelf on Thursday, May 12th at 7:30pm. You will have a chance to tour the Food Shelf and ask an questions that you might have. Refreshments and drinks will be provided. Our location is 255 3rd St, St. Paul Park.

The reason our food shelf is so successful is that we are supported so generously by the community around us. Our local businesses, schools and churches are amazing! With Northern Tier Energy providing us with our building and utilities and the generosity of our donors, we are able to be extremely generous in how much food we give out. We couldn’t do this without your incredible support! We are truly part of a community that cares about those in need and we are so grateful for your help.

Michelle Rageth
Director, Friends in Need Food Shelf