ST. PAUL, Minn. — Midwest Dairy has provided an additional $15,000 in grant funding — for a grand total of $95,000 in 2019 — that has enabled Second Harvest Heartland to purchase eight more dairy coolers for food shelves and shelters throughout Minnesota.
Back in January when the request for grant applications was initially sent out, the response was overwhelming, and eight applicants had to be wait-listed. Now, a total of 45 food shelves and shelters and their communities have benefited from this grant.
The grant was intended to support the increased distribution of cow’s milk and other nutritious dairy products that are in high demand at food shelves and shelters.
“This project has been very exciting, and I am so grateful that we were able to provide more coolers through this grant to additional agencies. We are deeply appreciative for this partnership with Midwest Dairy,” said Pat Pearson, director of agency relations at Second Harvest Heartland.
As with the first round, the additional grant covered both the cost of the refrigerator and delivery. The grantee organizations were able to choose from a selection of four different types of coolers to best meet the needs of their individual programs.
“Wow, what great news. We are currently drawing up plans to expand client shopping and will include this in our plans,” said Brad Kirk, the executive director at New Ulm Area Emergency Food Shelf.
“This is a wonderful surprise,” said Nicole Bathgate at Dakota Woodlands Shelter in Eagan.
On any given day, one in 11 Minnesotans does not know where their next meal is coming from: kids come home to an empty fridge and seniors skip meals to pay for their medications.
Second Harvest Heartland — together with more than 1,000 organizational partners and 1,000 food shelf, food pantry and meal program partners — believes no one should go hungry. In so many ways, partners like Midwest Dairy make a transformational impact on the mission to end hunger.