March Food Shelf Campaign

by | Feb 20, 2020 | Church News, Participation, Service, Vine Newsletter


March is the annual MN Foodshare drive to restock Minnesota food shelves. Since 1982 MN Foodshare has held an annual March campaign to restock food shelves in the Twin Cities area. Last year over $8 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food shelf items were donated.

Prince of Peace is a proud supporter of the March Campaign. Members are encouraged to bring food items with them to church and place them in the grocery cart at the church entrance. Items needed are: proteins like canned meat, fish, beans or nuts; rice; and personal care items like shampoo, soap or diapers.

Using bulk purchase FoodShare MN can expand the buying power of cash donations. Thus we also encourage financial contributions too. Make checks out to POP and write “food shelf” in the memo line. A collection box will be located with the grocery cart at the church entrance.

Here are some facts about hunger in Minnesota:

  • Nearly one in ten Minnesotans experience food insecurity.
  • 13.8% of children in Minnesota are food insecure.
  • 9.5% of Minnesotans live below the poverty level.
  • Over 3,000,000 visits were made to Minnesota food shelves each year, 2011-2017, with over 3.4 million visits in 2017.
  • The number of food insecure seniors and seniors utilizing food shelfs continues to increase.
  • Minnesota’s charitable food system (food shelves and food banks, meal programs, etc.) continues to run at capacity. Supporting government programs like SNAP (“food stamps”) and creating a more just and equitable food system are integral parts of meeting the needs of food insecure households and working toward ending hunger in our communities.

There are MN FoodShare envelopes in the grocery cart. Every Sunday in March there will be an opportunity to donate money to help with supplying food shelves throughout the state. For every $1.00 you contribute it will be stretched to provide at least $5.00 worth of food. The grocery cart in the narthex is there for donations of food all year long. Gary Peterson faithfully delivers your food donations to our local Keystone Food Shelf on Rice Street.