Hunger-Free Minnesota Announces Grant Awards to Community Hunger-Relief Organizations with Partner Hormel Foods

-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 Hormel Foods, 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.

“Hormel Foods 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 Hormel Foods. “Ensuring that everyone has access to healthy, nutritious food is a priority we both share.”