Rising numbers of people continue to visit food shelves and meal programs.
Five days a week, anywhere from 75-100 people of all ages come together to share food and community at Camden Promise, a program housed at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis and one of the agency partners of The Food Group. Ms. Dorothy offers coffee and donuts and invites people to share what they are grateful for: “That I can spend the day with my granddaughter.” “That my daughter starts college next week—the first in our family to attend college!” Some people applaud and encourage each other while others quietly listen.
The number of daily guests served by “Ms. D” and her team has steadily increased over the past year. After they’ve enjoyed a meal—the menu when we visited was fried chicken, potato salad, cornbread and cole slaw—they head over to the food shelf where they choose several days’ worth of food for their household.
“We are very poor and are afraid we’ll be kicked out of our apartment,” says Corina. “I don’t know what we would do then.” She is here today with her sister-in-law, son, and niece. She shares that they had three recent deaths in the family, including her grandmother and a newborn niece. They had to travel up north and cover funeral costs. They are behind on their rent and their power has been cut off. So right now, they come to Camden Promise every day for lunch and groceries.
“The Food Group is generous with delivering fresh produce. Your drivers even make extra drop-offs when they have an abundance of veggies and fruit,” says food shelf coordinator Randy Schepker. They also receive dairy, meat and eggs from The Food Group. He says with current food prices, a tight budget, and high community need, they are having to cut back on how many items they offer each day.
This trend of a rising need for food is happening across the Twin Cities, suburbs, small towns, tribal communities and rural areas. Your support continues to make an impact every day, helping our partners share food to create a stronger, healthier community.
Your support makes an impact every day, helping our partners, including Camden Promise, share food to create a stronger, healthier community!
