Bridge to Basics

Research is very limited on hygiene insecurity in the United States - with the most comprehensive look into the issue led by Feeding America in 2012. We are changing that. Bridge to Basics is diving deeper into the issue of hygiene insecurity by talking with people in our community to better understand the prevalence, coping strategies and harms of hygiene insecurity. Over the coming months, we will be sharing findings from our work as we engage new audiences in the research. Our August 2024 survey of Open Cupboard shoppers, the largest food shelf in Minnesota, echoed many of Feeding America findings and highlighted our own community’s hygiene crisis. 87% of shoppers completing the survey shared that they have struggled to afford personal hygiene products in the past year with 51% struggling to do so every month. To learn more about hygiene insecurity, past and current research, and what we have in place to support our struggling neighbors and nonprofit network, check out https://lnkd.in/gc4VGQa5 hashtag #hygiene4all

Thank you, Forest Foundation! Your generosity and support of our mission is greatly appreciated! Nonprofits understand the harms experienced by hygiene insecure individuals and want to identify resources to support them. With your financial support, Bridge to Basics can be that resource to more partners. Thank you for making hygiene more accessible for our neighbors. #hygiene4all #supportmorebasicneeds #hygieneinsecurity

This September, #HungerActionMonth, let's do our part to show up for our neighbors who are struggling and support our community's food shelves, pantries and food banks. It takes all of us to #endhunger. Together, we create thriving communities.

August was our biggest distribution month yet as we onboarded new partners and supported our schools as they prepare to welcome back students. This large distribution was only possible because of the individuals, foundations and businesses who recognize our community’s hygiene gap and support our mission to make hygiene more accessible. Thank you for making this possible. Together, we support more basic needs and build thriving communities. #hygiene4all

We are scaling to meet more needs and support more partners! Thanks to HDI Wholesale, a female-led family company located in Wisconsin that caters to nonprofits, we are able to stretch our dollars a little further….and meet the needs of more neighbors because of their robust product inventory. Special shout out to Tax Airfreight, Inc. for getting us the product with care and help! It’s distro day tomorrow -- our largest one yet -- and we are READY!!

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) Refugee Services receives hygiene products to welcome new neighbors to Minnesota. Bridge to Basics addresses the problem of hygiene insecurity by offering a hygiene bank stocked with the 13 most requested hygiene products ranging from diapers to oral care items and laundry detergent. We function like a food bank, providing needed and requested personal hygiene products free of charge to a network of nonprofits to support their efforts. Products are also sourced to meet the needs of our network’s supported communities including ethnically and culturally appropriate items and those that accommodate health sensitivities. By providing these products free of charge, we save our partners time, money and resources and allow them to deliver more impact by staying mission-focused. Additionally, our partnerships offer neighbors the ability to thrive by ensuring their physical and emotional dignity through appropriate hygiene support. Your support of Bridge to Basics makes this possible.

We are so inspired by the amazing team at Simply Hygiene. The Wichita-based nonprofit hygiene bank is an incredible impact organization. Month-over-month they provide personal hygiene items to more than 174 schools and 78 organizations in the greater Wichita area, providing over 77,000 people access to hygiene essentials each month. To date, the organization has distributed over 5 million products. 💞 Their small but mighty team has been a critical piece in Bridge to Basics’ development and growth. The team has been incredibly supportive and generous with their time, talents and resources as we navigate our journey to bridge the hygiene gap in the Twin Cities. We are lucky to call them not only inspirations and mentors, but friends. Thank you, Simply Hygiene.

Each day, we field calls and emails from individuals and nonprofits looking for daily essentials. Donors, corporate supporters and grant makers allow us to meet the needs of our nonprofit network. We are so grateful for your support and look forward to providing more products as our network grows. Thank you for being a part of the journey to make hygiene more accessible for all. 

This has been an incredibly rewarding week for our lean team at Bridge to Basics. We’ve experienced so much wonderful and supportive outreach — cold and referrals — with offers to help amplify our work through introductions, communications and fundraisers. To top it off, we received three amazing hygiene collections. HandsOn Twin Cities provided hygiene kits, SPECTRAFORCE (Twin Cities) hosted an employee hygiene drive and 3Strands at Sola Salons organized hair and body care donations. Thank you for leaning into our mission and showing up for our hygiene insecure neighbors. 📩 If you are interested in championing our mission, please reach out. We’d love to connect.

At the end of the day, it's all about partnerships and building a network of support. We are fortunate to count Diaper Bank of Minnesota as one of our partners. We lean into supporting their mission by providing diapers for newborns to children through our school and food shelf network. They lean into our work by making sure donated items outside of their mission, like this recent large supply of adult incontinence products, get to struggling neighbors. Thank you, Diaper Bank MN!