When the Minnesota state government shut down at midnight, our hungry neighbors were put at even greater risk of hunger.

• Unemployment rates will temporarily increase, putting extra strain on families.
• Some Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites are being forced to close, as the host schools rely on government funding to run summer programs.
• Meal programs that rely on government funding are being forced to shut down.

You can help ease the strain on affected families by:

• Fundraising on behalf of Second Harvest Heartland or another local hunger-relief organization on our GiveMN campaign. To donate directly to Second Harvest Heartland, click here. To create your own fundraiser on behalf of Second Harvest Heartland or another hunger-relief organization (any 501c3) click here and click “Fundraise” in the “Join this team” box on the right.
• Spreading the word about the shutdown impact on Minnesota families on Facebook or Twitter. Use hashtag #mnshutdown to track the conversation, and use the URL http://bit.ly/mnhunger to save characters when directing to the GiveMN campaign.
• Bringing food directly to your local food shelf.

Feel free to contact us at any time with questions. Thanks for your support during this difficult time for so many of our neighbors.

Sincere thanks to all of our friends who supported the work of Second Harvest Heartland at Thursday’s Dish: Cuisine for Change at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. The event attracted almost 1,000 people and raised more than $500,000. We are humbled and grateful to our sponsors, restaurants, auction donors, individual attendees and other supporters for the incredible generosity displayed that evening. Thank you!

Whether you were able to attend or not, we invite you to download a recipe booklet from this year’s participating restaurants—The Strip Club Meat & Fish, Kincaid’s, Oceanaire and more.

Download the Recipe Booklet Now >>

Stamp Out Hunger, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ (NALC) annual food drive that locally supports Second Harvest Heartland, is less than one month away!  On Saturday, May 14, over 2,000 letter carriers from throughout the Twin Cities will collect food at thousands of doorsteps for those in need. In 2010, we collected over 1.2 million pounds of food for our hungry neighbors and this year we hope to meet or exceed this number, but can’t do it without your help.

There are three different ways you can get involved:

1. Give Food
Place non-perishable food products in the bag you receive in your mailbox. Your letter carrier will do the rest!

2. Give Time
Volunteer at a local Cub Foods store, helping collect food. Click here to sign up for a shift!

3. Give Financially
Your financial contributions are of tremendous benefit to our neighbors in need. Donate online today.

To learn more about Stamp Out Hunger, click here.

This week is National Volunteer Week, and all of us at Second Harvest Heartland would like to extend our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all of our volunteers for their dedicated service to Second Harvest Heartland and those we serve.

In 2010, volunteers gave over 45,000 hours of their time. That’s the equivalent to almost 23 full-time employees.  With your support, we’re distributing more food than ever before to our neighbors in need. We couldn’t do it without you!

If you’ve volunteered with Second Harvest Heartland in the past–thank you! If you’d like to learn more about how you can get involved, click here.

Get in Gear, Minnesota’s Annual Rite of Spring, is fast approaching—and now is the time to register to run a 2k, 5k, 10k or half marathon! This year’s event is being held on April 30^th at Minnehaha Park in South Minneapolis.  When registering, consider donating to Second Harvest Heartland; your donation will be matched dollar for dollar up to $10,000 by Get in Gear, which will be used to support child hunger programs. All you need to do is designate your donation on the Get in Gear registration form.

If participating in a race isn’t for you, we still need volunteers! Sign up to help out on Friday, April 29^th with race packet distribution and again on Saturday, April 30 at water stations, the bag check, and other various jobs. To sign up to volunteer, click here.

We hope to see you there!

On Thursday, Feeding America released their study, “Map the Meal Gap,” detailing the number of meals that families miss each year across America—an estimated 8.4 billion nationwide and nearly 100 million in Minnesota alone. This study is complementary to the “Missing Meals” report that was released by Second Harvest Heartland in March of 2009.

“I would say it’s a tool for how people can really understand what are the needs in every community, and how do you actually identify closing the gap around the need,” said Vicki Escarra, the CEO of Feeding America about the “Map the Meal Gap” study.

Check out the article released today by MPR, which features Second Harvest Heartland Executive Director, Rob Zeaske and others from Minnesota.

It’s hard to believe it’s already the middle of March, and that Minnesota FoodShare’s March Campaign is already half over!  For those unfamiliar, the March Campaign helps provide food for 300 Minnesota food shelves after a long winter of helping the hungry. Now in its tenth year, Minnesota FoodShare has challenged its partners, made up of congregations, companies, civic groups and schools, to provide 12 million dollars and pounds of food to Minnesota food shelves this March.

This number is daunting and ambitious, but with roughly 10% of people in our region at risk of hunger, it is a challenge that we must meet.

Some who used to donate to food shelves are now depending on them—but thanks to the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, we can help ensure that no one has to go without food.

Get more information on the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign here.

Check out the latest edition of Stories of Hope, the quarterly newsletter from Second Harvest Heartland, featuring:

• Kick Hunger Day results
• The Heart of the Heartland – a photo essay from a great volunteer, and
• An inside look at the Community Organizing project with Diana Madsen

Be a part of the annual Mpls.St.Paul Magazine event that celebrates the “Best of the Best” in Minnesota while raising funds for Second Harvest Heartland. This year’s event is sure to be a hit as it brings Vegas to you! Play poker, roulette, and pulltabs while enjoying food, wine, and cocktail sampling.

Tickets to the celebration, which is held on Monday, February 21 at 7pm at the IDS Crystal Court and Windows on Minnesota, are $35, and are still available on Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s website by clicking here!

Don’t miss your opportunity to check out what really is the best in Minnesota!

You know the stats. Hunger has doubled in our service area in the past five years. More people than ever before are counting on Second Harvest Heartland and our partners for support. The need has changed, but it’s being met with a shift: more than ever, the philanthropic support of our community is focused on basic needs, such as hunger. This past weekend, the Star Tribune published their 15th Annual Top 100 Nonprofit Report. The report, featured on the front page of the Business Section this past Sunday, details how the shift has helped create new growth at Second Harvest Heartland which has allowed us to keep up with the demand, ensuring that more of our neighbors have food when they need it most.

Refrigerated truck donated by Walmart

Also included in the report is information about our Food Rescue Program. Thanks to supporters like Walmart, who recently donated a refrigerated truck, we have been able to deliver more fresh food than ever. In fact, the Food Rescue program alone experienced 92% growth over last year.

In the rankings portion of the report, you can find Second Harvest Heartland at number 52—up from 68 in 2008 (2009 numbers from our 990). In the social services sector, we are now third-ranked, behind United Way, and Lutheran Brotherhood.

Times may continue to be hard for many, but through this shift and growth, we can continue to develop and implement programs so that the basic need of food is accessible to everyone who needs it.

To view the entire report, click here. And thank you for being a part of this important cause.