Second Harvest Heartland

Wow—what an incredible evening this weekend at the Dish Gala! We are so humbled by this community of supporters. In one night, we raised $1.6 million, making more than 4.8 million meals possible for our neighbors. As you well know, we have a bold goal of making hunger history by cutting hunger in half for all Minnesotans by 2030—and bold goals need bold support. Thank you to all the generous sponsors for making this event possible.

This evening we will come together with our community of supporters for our 21st annual Dish Gala, presented by Cub. We are grateful for the generosity of our sponsors, table hosts, supporters, and auction donors as we celebrate our collective impact and work towards our bold goal to cut hunger in half for all Minnesotans by 2030. #DishGala

We are looking forward to our Dish Gala this weekend, to being in a room full of our neighbors who want everyone in our community to thrive. With the support of our amazing sponsors, we cannot wait to celebrate the work and what is next in our mission to end hunger together. #DishGala

How does packing and sorting produce like apples and onions help the hunger-relief network? 🍎 - Sorting the produce cuts down on food that is past its prime going to food shelves. 🥔 - Packing helps our food shelf partners get quantities that are manageable for them and in the right size for their organization, cutting down on food waste. 🥕- The produce shows up looking better for our neighbors in need. 🧅- All produce that is sorted out goes back into the food system by going to local farms to feed livestock. Get your shift: https://bit.ly/4dV5LrT

❓What is a Food Bank❓ It's one of the most common questions that we get. A food bank acts as a wholesaler, sourcing large amounts of food and making it available to smaller, local food shelves and food pantries, so they can provide free groceries and healthy meals to our neighbors experiencing hunger and food insecurity. We are lucky to partner with a wonderful network of local food shelves and partners in our communities.

This week we had Championship-winning Professional Hockey Player, Taylor Heise out volunteering with us and she's going to be packing more than apples this season. Each time Taylor Heise feeds a teammate an assist – which you hockey fans know is called an 🍎“apple”🍎 – during games, Honeybear Brands Pazazz Apples will donate 600 pounds of apples to us! We are big Minnesota sports fans here at Second Harvest Heartland- and many of us grew up watching or playing hockey. We are going to need you to cheer extra loud this season!

It takes all of us to make progress on our mission to end hunger together. These three things are central to us: 🤝 Partner – We collaborate with over one thousand hunger relief partners serving 59 counties in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Working together, we deliver requested foods to small towns and big cities across our region. 🧠 Innovate - When we see a need, we find effective ways to meet it. Our scale, efficiency and collaborative approach helps us make an impact, while responding with agility and compassion. Through programming and operations, we're leaders where food can be a solution. 🗣️ Advocate - At the state and federal levels, we champion the anti-hunger policies that reduce food insecurity and help our hungry neighbors access the healthy food they need to thrive. We work together, mobilize support and use our voices to make change.

Did you know...❓ Food shelf visits have doubled each year since 2021. Last year, we saw 7.5 million visits to good shelves. We're on a mission to end hunger together and we cannot afford to be patient with hunger anymore. There is more than enough food to feed everyone. Through innovation, advocacy, and our extensive partner network, we connect our hungry neighbors to the full resources of our community. 📸: Pipestone County Food Shelf Distribution Food

You might see our Care Center team out in the community at events sharing information, answering questions, and connecting you to resources. Next time you see us at an event, stop by and say hi. 📸: Care Center team at a pop up distribution in Farmington, MN put on by our partner The Open Door

We know hunger relief is a bipartisan issue, and supporters come from all political backgrounds. It’s important to know where candidates stand on policies that support hunger relief. To learn more about candidates, follow these steps: 🍎 Research the candidates running for office in your area. You can find out who they are: https://lnkd.in/ghTzqA6g 🍎 Learn their positions on hunger relief policies. Look for candidates who prioritize ending hunger. 🍎 Consider attending candidate forums. You could also reach out to them directly to discuss hunger-related issues.