by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
The generosity of people, churches, organizations and companies in the greater St. Cloud area and beyond remains outstanding, making the Catholic Charities Food Shelf the second highest in the state for most food collected in March.
During the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign, more than $160,000 and 210,000 pounds of food were donated to the Catholic Charities Emergency Food Shelf, which helps food-strapped families and individuals in Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud, St. Augusta and Waite Park.
Each year, Minnesota FoodShare, a project of the Minneapolis Council of Churches, challenges all state food shelves to collect as much food and money as possible. Minnesota FoodShare then collects funds from large state corporations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, CenterPoint Energy and Target. Those funds are then distributed to local food shelves based on the total of donations in those local areas.
It was announced last week the Catholic Charities Food Shelf collected the second-largest amount statewide, second only to the Rochester Food Shelf. That food collected for Catholic Charities will last from two to three months, but the money donated will last much longer.
“With the buying power offered to us by the Second Harvest Food Bank and other local partners, we are able to stretch donated dollars from $1 to $4 (to buy groceries), said Kathryn Stolpman, manager of Catholic Charities Emergency Services. “We are so grateful for all of the help in March and throughout the year.”
The Catholic Charities Food Shelf, Stolpman noted, is typically busiest in the months of July and August, and about 40 percent of the people served are children during those months because they are not in school to receive free or reduced-price lunches and so family budgets are stretched.
The Catholic Charities Food Shelf provides a five- to seven-day supply of food to households in the greater St. Cloud area. Its headquarters is located at 157 Roosevelt Road in St. Cloud.
Besides its food shelf, Catholic Charities offers a wide range of other kinds of services ever since it began more than 100 years ago. Its goal is to strengthen people of all faiths and beliefs physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.
