The 2018 March Minnesota FoodShare campaign has wrapped up and what a journey it has been! From the time we started planning in January to the last donation received in April, we have so many people to thank for making it a success. Staff, volunteers, donors, community, business, and so many more…

Each year, we start planning the food drive by meeting with the representatives of the churches in the area. Ideas and energy flow at these meetings and I am amazed by what each congregation can accomplish! The churches are the backbone of this campaign as they have been champions of the work done here at Neighbors since we began 47 years ago.

As I started planning the food drive, I checked in with the volunteers, grocery and retail partners, corporations and community leaders who contributed to past campaigns. I was also excited about reaching out to new partners and getting them involved. I always have the individuals we assist on my mind when I am reaching out for donations. We are blessed to have so many wonderful partners in the cities we serve.

We are so appreciative for the many volunteers who make the March campaign a success, including those who represent Neighbors at their place of worship or employer. It is so amazing and inspiring to see the many dedicated volunteers who deliver and pick up the food donation barrels, and all of the donated food from grocery and retail stores. Not to mention the volunteers who deliver, receive and sort the thousands of pounds of food that arrives each day. It takes a village!

And, of course, this would not be a success without the financial contributions that help us buy food, such as milk, eggs and meat, which we give to our shoppers every time they visit our food shelf. This piece is essential as we focus on all the things we need to make the food shelf work.

It is amazing to see how empty our Food Shelf warehouse is at the beginning of March and how it is overflowing at the end of FoodShare! Nearly 320,000 combined pounds and dollars were donated to Neighbors during the 2018 March campaign – which is 5,000 pounds more than last year’s campaign. We are so thankful and humbled by your support and we would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone. We couldn’t have done it without you!

In gratitude,

Darcy Wetzel, Community Outreach Coordinator

 Neighbors Inc of Minnesota