Hello!
The Morrison County Food Shelf was started by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota in the 1980’s when the county was in a recession. Since then, the food shelf has become its own entity and served over 8,000 individuals with over 3,000 visits in 2020. In total, the food shelf distributed more than 253,000 pounds of food last year. The food shelf had 157 families visit the food shelf that had never used it before 2020. This demonstrates the growing need for the food shelf. The Food Shelf’s mission is to provide emergency and supplemental food to people who lack sufficient resources to feed themselves. The program also provides referrals and educational information to its clients. The staff and volunteers strive to treat all people who come to the food shelf with respect and dignity. In 2019 the Morrison County Food Shelf converted to a Supershelf. With this project, we strive to be able to create a food shelf environment this is client centered, promoting and respecting each individual’s choice. We have increased access to a variety of healthy, culturally appropriate food. We also apply behavioral economic principals to promote healthy food choices. We want to make the healthiest choice be the easiest choice. We have increased the availability of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and cooking ingredients. This is important because it gives the clients who use the food shelf access to more healthy food choices. In 2020, over 2,300 of our visits were for children under the age of 18. If we can promote healthy food choices at a young age, this will more likely become a lifestyle and will lead to an overall healthier community. Healthier persons miss less school and workdays, and that will in turn strengthen the community. We have attached a list of our most needed foods. Thank you for your help to end hunger in our community. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (320) 632-8304 or at mcfoodshelf@gmail.com. Thank You, Marilyn Gulden Executive Director MCFS |
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