View the full set on Flickr

Special thanks to the Minnesota Vikings for all their efforts!

We’re excited to announce a first-time partnership with the Minnesota Vikings and Hunger Solutions which will help provide an additional 200,000 meals to be distributed in Minnesota through the existing Summer Feeding program for children in our community!

The Minnesota Vikings have donated a generous $92,000 to this effort, which will help expand the existing USDA-sponsored program. “The Vikings Children’s Fund aims to positively impact the well-being of our children and help provide them with the means to be healthy, strong and vibrant members of our community as they grow,” said Steve LaCroix, vice president of sales and marketing, chief marketing officer with the Minnesota Vikings. “Proper nutrition will always be essential to a child’s well-being, which is why the Vikings are honored to participate in this program with Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland.”

During the schoolyear, 270,000 children in Minnesota depend on free and reduced-cost school lunches – but only 20% of those children receive the same subsidized meals during the summer.

Together, we can help increase participation in the program and provide more meals to hungry children in our community. Visit www.missingmeals.org to learn more about this exciting new initiative, or visit www.hungersolutions.org.

At Dish: Cuisine for Change on April 30th, we auctioned off four backstage, “meet and greet” passes for Bruce Springsteen’s concert at the Xcel Energy Center last week. Pictured below are the winning bidders with Bruce himself!

From left to right: Pat Geraghty, the CEO of Blue Cross, Blue Shield; Pat’s wife Heather Geraghty; Bruce Springsteen; Shirley Hughes, secretary of Second Harvest’s Board of Directors and a retired Vice President of Ceridian Corporation; Shirley’s niece Roxanne Allen

Thanks to all the volunteers, attendees and other participants who helped make this year’s Dish: Cuisine for Change and Stamp Out Hunger both a huge success.

Head over to Flickr or view the slideshows below to see pictures from the events. (Credit to Kim A. Taylor Photography and Fly By Night Graphics, Ltd.)

The National Association of Letter Carriers is at it again, collecting food and monetary donations nationwide to feed our hungry neighbors. With the weakened economy and the increased demand for emergency food, there’s an urgent need to help feed those children, working families and seniors in our communities who are struggling to put food on the table.

This year’s goal for Stamp Out Hunger: Minneapolis/St. Paul is just over 1 million pounds of food – collected in one day! But to accomplish this incredible feat, we need your help.

It’s easy to participate!

1. This week,  look for a blue plastic bag in your mailbox. Fill it with non perishable food items (no homemade items or glass containers, please) and set it by your mailbox on Saturday, May 9th. Your letter carrier will do the rest.
2. Donate online, or stop into your nearest TCF Branch to make a cash donation. For each $5 donated, Second Harvest Heartland can distribute $45 worth of food and grocery products to our hungry neighbors.
3. Sign up to volunteer at one of 28 Cub Foods locations on May 9!

More and more people in our community need our help. Will you join us in this effort to Stamp Out Hunger in the Twin Cities?