(Local Nonprofits Spotlight is a regular feature where Heather Tran will be profiling different nonprofits in our local communities. Heather is a co-founder and board member for A Better Society.)
Community leaders from Bountiful Basket Food Shelf (located in Chaska and Cologne), Gather and Grow Food Shelf (located in Waconia and Watertown), Mi CASA, A Better Society and Carver County Public Health attended Second Harvest Heartland’s (SHH) first annual “Make Hunger History Summit” on Friday, Jan. 31 at the Earl Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center with other hunger relief leaders from all over Minnesota.
The purpose of the event was to gather together to deepen connections, to learn from subject matter experts and each other, and to find new ways to address the growing needs of community members.
In January 2024, SHH launched its moonshot to “Make Hunger History” by cutting the current number of hungry Minnesotans in half by 2030. To do this well, SHH partnered with Wilder Research to complete a Statewide Hunger Study that provided valuable information to guide efforts in communities and throughout all of Minnesota.
Statewide, 7% of households are experiencing hunger. These households do not have enough food to feed all members of the household and either do not receive enough or receive no support to meet their food needs. Food supports include SNAP and WIC benefits, food shelf visits, or other food supports.
An additional 13% of households have enough food supports for today but require food supports to meet their food needs. These two populations combined make up the food-insecure population and total 20% of Minnesotans, according to the study.
For Carver County, this translates to approximately 8,000 households and 21,000 people who are dealing with food insecurity.
Mary Hernandez, one of the co-founders and executive director of Mi CASA, participated on the panel for the session entitled “Adapting to Changing Community Demographics.”
“As a Latina panelist at the Make Hunger History Summit, I was truly honored to be part of this important conversation and to have Mi CASA help amplify the voices of our community,” she said. “True inclusion means making sure those most affected have a seat at the table – because ending hunger takes all of us. Being there alongside friends and allies only deepened our shared commitment to serving together.”
Angie Cruzen, the executive director of Gather and Grow Food Shelf, said, “The summit provided great visualization of how many partners are working to tackle food insecurity across the state. The statistics were a nice affirmation of what our reality feels and looks like at our food shelf on the front lines.”
With 1 in 5 Minnesota households struggling with food insecurity, it will take increasing both the capacity and awareness of our local food shelves and support organizations, advocating for additional support and changes from the federal, state, and local governments and increased collaboration in our community.
In Carver County, the Carver County Hunger Relief Collaborative (CCHRC) formed informally during the pandemic. It included Carver County Public Health, local food shelves, other nonprofit food supports, school officials, community meal organizers and concerned citizens.
The group initially came together to ensure that neighbors were receiving the support they needed. In 2023, the group formalized its efforts to collaboratively tackle hunger relief in Carver County.
CCHRC meets regularly to support each other’s work, stay updated on emerging or growing needs, and collaborate on grants and solutions.
Patti Sinykin, executive director of Bountiful Basket Food Shelf, sums it up well.
“At the conference, one of the speakers noted that while enthusiasm is easy, endurance is harder to come by,” she said. “We all recognize that addressing food insecurity is not a short-term effort – it requires long-term commitment and collaboration. As an organization, a collaborative and a county, we are dedicated to enduring, adapting, and ensuring that no neighbor goes without the food and support they need – now and for the long haul.”
To learn more about the food resources available in Carver County or to volunteer or provide financial support for the hunger relief effort, visit FindFoodCarverCounty.org or follow them on Facebook or Instagram to stay up to date on what’s happening in our community.
