By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Area Food Shelf is seeking donations for the month of March during Minnesota FoodShare Month. This month-long fundraising period is a statewide campaign to help fill food pantries across Minnesota. Money given to the Food Shelf are able to go a lot further than individual purchases due to the help of the North Country Food Bank.

The annual FoodShare campaign began in 1982 as a way to restock local food shelves in the Twin Cities area and was so successful that it expanded into a statewide campaign the next year and is now in its 44th year of operation.

“We envision a future where all Minnesotans have access to healthy food and no one struggles with food insecurity,” reads the FoodShare website. “This Initiative directly addresses these issues. We invite you to join our efforts and advocate for long-term solutions to food insecurity in our communities.”

The March FoodShare campaign helps to keep over 300 food shelves across the state filled and able to help their own local communities. Over $18 million has been distributed to participating food shelves, including the NY Mills Area Food Shelf.

Last year’s food share donations totaled $10,531.31 and 607 pounds of food, a decrease from the year before. With grant funding diminishing since the Covid-19 pandemic, board members have been doing their best to cut costs while still providing the same service to those in need.

In 2024, the NY Mills Food Shelf’s expenditures almost doubled its income. During the year, the facility served 593 families and 1,426 individuals, distributing over 60,000 pounds of food throughout the year. This was a record high year for usage in the food shelf’s 33 years in operation and an increase of over 10,000 pounds since 2023.

In June 2023, a second time of day was added to the food shelf’s monthly distribution date, which gave more people the opportunity to make a visit. Minnesotans made an estimated 9 million visits to food shelves in 2024, a record-breaking number. This is an increase of 20 percent from the previous record of 7.5 million which was set in 2023. Visits to food shelves across the state are 150 percent higher than they were prior to the Covid pandemic, according to MN FoodShare.

Local church congregations as well as Mills Market and Dollar General have donation boxes out at their locations and checks for the FoodShare Drive can be made out to: New York Mills Area Food Shelf, PO Box 323, New York Mills, MN 56567. Food donation drop off can be arranged with Connie Warner at (218) 385-3669 or (218) 385-2853 during working hours.