Food shelf challenge grant runs through July

ST. CLOUD — Throughout the month of July, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud and Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless are holding a food shelf challenge grant to benefit Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf.

In partnership with Hunger Solutions, now a part of The Food Group, Open Your Heart’s Summer Challenge makes it possible for Minnesota food shelves to restock and distribute fresh and frozen foods during this difficult time of year.

Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will proportionally match donations to Catholic Charities Food Shelf during the month of July, up to $4,000, to help end food insecurity in the St. Cloud area.

The more funds raised in July toward the food shelf, the larger the matching grant from Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will be. Donations to Catholic Charities Food Shelf can be made online at ccstcloud.org/donate.

“In a normal summer, we see an increase in children visiting during the summer,” said Eric Vollen, Catholic Charities Emergency Services program manager. “When school is out for summer vacation, many children miss out on free school meals and families turn to us for support. We are seeing an increase of food-insecure people here in the St. Cloud area, and the summer challenge comes at a time when our food shelf needs help the most.”

In 2023, Minnesotans made a record 7,551,147 visits to their food shelves statewide — up nearly 2 million visits from the year prior. Last July alone, Catholic Charities Food Shelf served 4,909 people and distributed over 180,000 pounds of food.

Food shelf challenge grant runs through July