In the Community
SCMNFR is important to me because I’ve experienced food insecurity in the past. Without programs like this, there are families out there that would go hungry. They say up to 40% of the food a typical household buys goes to the landfill. In a day where that is happening, there should not be any families that go hungry. SCMNFR helps to bridge the gap and it is my honor to be involved in a way that fits my busy life.
SkyAnne Walker, Community Distribution Volunteer
SCMNFR is important to the clients and guests of Partners for Housing because the people we serve can focus on their housing stability without worrying about feeding themself or their families. The meals provided through SCMNFR are healthy and ready to eat after long days of working on housing and other barriers that brought them to housing instability. We are grateful for the collaboration between Partners and SCMNFR because it allows us to serve community members at a higher level while removing the barrier of food insecurity in their journeys toward housing stability.
Trisha Anderson, Executive Director at Partners for Housing
This effort has been grassroots and community-led from the beginning. The list of partners for this work is long and far-reaching. SCMNFR has a strong partnership with ECHO Food Shelf, which distributes the ready-made meals. In 2023, 75% of the servings went to ECHO Food Shelf. The other main goal is to provide young children options for pre-cooked food that, in a pinch, would not need to be heated. For example, partner Mankato Youth Place distributes meals to its families, which include several young children who may have caregivers who are not able to provide consistency during mealtimes. SCMNFR also partners with Wooden Spoon to make sure that Mankato Youth Place has dinner meals to be heated onsite several times per week.
Many other partners pick up and distribute fresh produce and meals to their clients in Brown, Nicollet, Le Sueur, Waseca, and Blue Earth Counties. For example, Vine Faith in Action and Minnesota Valley Action Council work with clients throughout the region and often stop by to pick up individual meals and fresh produce to distribute when they are going to the homes of their clients. In addition to direct service partners, SCMNFR works with Mayo Clinic’s Food Rx program, implemented through SNAP-Ed. Fresh produce items are distributed at Mayo sites in Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties. SCMNFR also works with smaller food shelves, such as the St. Peter Area Food Shelf, to supplement items from other donation sources. Finally, SCMNFR distributes to community members and coalitions who pick up and then distribute to community members in need.