Minnesota summers were made for trips to the cabin, boat rides on the lake, and farmer’s market outings, not food shelf visits. But that’s the reality for thousands of Minnesotans. Children are home from school and the family budget is tighter. The food shelf at CROSS Services helps provide nutritious fruits and vegetables to families and individuals in need and is asking for your assistance this summer.
CROSS and Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless announce the Sixth Annual $150,000 Food Shelf Challenge Grant. Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will proportionally match donations to the food shelf at CROSS during the month of July, up to $5,000. The more funds CROSS raises in July, the larger the matching grant from Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will be. In 2014, Minnesota food shelves raised more than $1,000,000 with this grant and hope to raise even more this year.
Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless believes this approach to hunger alleviation is effective because it brings communities together to solve a growing concern across Minnesota. The $150,000 Challenge will power a statewide initiative that leverages Open Your Heart funding to bring additional dollars to food shelves and increase awareness of child hunger during the summer.
“Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has been such a great community partner,” CROSS Executive Director Elizabeth Johnson said. “They are so committed to local food shelves and helping us be more successful.”
How to Help
Since 1977, local non-profit organization CROSS has been serving families and individuals living in Rogers, Maple Grove, Osseo, Champlin (West), Corcoran, and Dayton – addressing hunger by providing services such as a food shelf, Meals on Wheels, and more.
If you are interested in supporting families with a monetary donation to CROSS, it can be done online at CROSSservice.org, by mail or in person.
CROSS is located at 12915 Weinand Circle, P.O. Box 574, Rogers, MN 55374.
Donation hours at CROSS are:
Monday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
A delicious way to help support CROSS happens Tuesday, July 21 at Which Wich Maple Grove, located at 9416 Dunkirk Lane. Which Wich Maple Grove will donate 75 percent of the proceeds to CROSS when customers mention CROSS or print/bring in the flier posted on crossservices.org/whats-happening/ during the day-long fundraiser.
Since 1986, Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless has targeted millions of dollars to strategically fight hunger in Minnesota. Open Your Heart funds the purchase and transfer of more than one million pounds of fresh produce, meat and dairy products every year through Hunger Solutions Minnesota.