Carver County is home to numerous nonprofit organizations that exist primarily to help individuals and families who are in need. One such entity is Humanity Alliance that is located in the city of Victoria.

Humanity Alliance is led by its founder and Executive Director Greg Pavett who started out in 2018 by helping a small group of high school students in Minneapolis who were in need of food assistance. Today, this same organization has volunteers delivering more than 5,500 healthy meals each week to individuals and families from throughout the nine-county metro area. One-third of these nutritious meals go to the residents of Carver County.

For those who may be contemplating making a donation to an area nonprofit this year, consider the following.

• Approximately 30% of the 250,000 pounds of food that is cooked and packaged by Humanity Alliance each year is considered as “rescued food” or food that would otherwise be thrown away into landfills.
• Since its inception, Humanity Alliance has always been a volunteer dependent nonprofit organization with a volunteer staff today equaling 1,621 individuals, who assist and contribute over 350 hours each week to help lower the cost of preparing meals by over $325,000. In 2024, their youngest volunteer was 3 years of age with the most elderly being 99 years old.
• The funding necessary for Humanity Alliance operations is made possible by donations from individuals, civic organizations, businesses and grants. Since October of 2022, Humanity Alliance has been 100% funded by private donors and foundations.
• The home site of Humanity Alliance has hosted 41 individuals at their recently renovated Unite Lodge. Some 86% of the residents that move on are successful in finding a more permanent housing situation. This Unite Lodge transitional housing program also provides employment assistance for its residents.
• The motto for Humanity Alliance is to provide holistic services for all individuals with the love and dignity that they deserve. With a focus on healthy and nutritious food, lodging and employment as well as helping to address the physical, social and spiritual well being of each person. 
• The Humanity Alliance provides volunteer opportunities for families wanting to work together to help build community, for school groups wanting to volunteer to better their community, and for civic organizations that are looking for more and better ways to share their resources.
• Partnerships have continually been a mainstay of support for Humanity Alliance in helping the organization meet its mission through donations of food product and volunteers. These partners include area churches, businesses, corporations, schools, civic organizations, farmers and food shelves.

Entering 2025, Humanity Alliance now has the opportunity and is pursuing the option of purchasing the former Oak Ridge Conference Center situated directly behind the Chaska Costco. This building has the capability to meet the needs of 220 individuals in 147 fully furnished rooms. The on-site commercial kitchen will allow for an expansion of the existing healthy meal delivery program in addition to being able to serve the onsite nutritious meal needs for resident individuals and families.

This existing building use option will save millions of public dollars when compared to how other more recent public building projects have been funded in the area. The building will allow for serving the holistic needs of its residents in the areas of employment, helping to address physical and mental health needs as well as helping with any social and spiritual connections.

This visionary project is an attempt to alleviate the unnecessary suffering found in Carver County today. In 2024, Humanity Alliance turned away more than 300 individuals who were seeking transitional housing assistance. Those who would like to help provide a better way to break this cycle of poverty and suffering can volunteer or make donations of food and gifts to Humanity Alliance.

For more information or to offer assistance, please visit Humanity Alliance at 7600 Victoria Drive or contact gpavett@humanityalliance.org.