(KNSI) – This month, donations to an area food shelf will go further to feed hungry families in the St. Cloud Area.
The eleventh annual Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless Summer Challenge by Hunger Solutions of Minnesota will benefit Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud Emergency Services Food Shelf.
A grant will match all donations in July up to $4,000 to help end hunger in the St. Cloud area.
The grant is designed to help Minnesota food shelves restock fresh and frozen foods during the summer months.
Catholic Charities says between the kids being home from school and more families out of work or experiencing economic hardship due to the pandemic; they see a greater level of need.
Donations can be made online by clicking here.
According to Hunger Solutions, every day, Minnesotans make over 10,000 visits to food shelves statewide, or- more than seven visits to a food shelf every minute if food shelves were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In 2020, Minnesota food shelf visits were up 7% from the year before, setting a new record high of over 3.8 million visits.
Children represented 35.7% of food shelf visits in Minnesota, with a total of 1,368,251 visits.
Even before COVID-19, there was a record level of need across the state.