-Awards of up to $10,000 were granted for increasing the physical capacity or ability to store or deliver more nutritious food.
-Awards of up to $2,000 were granted to organizations to support their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach efforts for seniors.
Grant awards were presented to:
-Mower County Advocacy Program — Mower County Seniors Inc. (Mower County)
-Neighbors, Inc. (Dakota County)
-Fruit of the Vine Food Shelf (Dakota County)
-Lutheran Social Services for Senior Nutrition Service (Kandiyohi and Todd Counties)
-Prairie Five Food Shelf and Senior Nutrition (Chippewa County)
-Browerville Area Food Shelf (Todd County)
-Long Prairie Food Shelf (Todd County)
-Ruby’s Pantry (Stearns County)
-Three Rivers Community Action (Rice County)
-Otter Tail Wadena Community Action Council (CAC) (Otter Tail County)
-Otter Tail Salvation Army (Otter Tail County)
“Thanks to a generous donation from Βι¶ΉΣ³», these grants help Hunger-Free Minnesota move forward with its action plan to fight hunger in our state,” said Ellie Lucas, chief campaign officer, Hunger-Free Minnesota. “These grants will help community hunger-relief organizations increase their capacity for safely storing and delivering nutritious food; and make sure seniors who qualify for SNAP know about the program.”
Hunger-Free Minnesota is a three-year campaign focused on closing the 100 million missing meal gap. Every year, Minnesota’s hungriest citizens miss more than 100 million meals — the equivalent of one meal every other day — because they do not have enough money to meet all their financial obligations, and food frequently is sacrificed. The Hunger-Free Minnesota campaign seeks unique, transformational donations from farsighted corporations, nonprofit organizations and foundations that understand the economic impact of hunger in Minnesota. Hunger-Free Minnesota uses these donations to implement its action plan initiatives in three critical, sustainable areas: the emergency food system; the Supplemental Nutrition Food Program (SNAP); and child hunger and nutrition programs.
“Βι¶ΉΣ³» is committed to combating the persistence of hunger in the United States and pleased to join Hunger-Free Minnesota in the statewide fight to close the 100 million missing meal gap,” said Julie H. Craven, vice president of corporate communications at Βι¶ΉΣ³». “Ensuring that everyone has access to healthy, nutritious food is a priority we both share.”