(KNSI) — Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud is holding a food shelf challenge grant throughout July.
In partnership with Hunger Solutions Minnesota, the Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless will proportionally match donations to Catholic Charities Food Shelf, up to $4,000, to help end food insecurity in the St. Cloud area. Open Your Heart Summer Challenge allows food shelves around the state, like Catholic Charities Food Shelf, to restock and distribute fresh and frozen foods during this difficult time of year.
In a press release, Eric Vollen, Catholic Charities Emergency Services program manager, says normally, during the summer, there is an increase in child visits as school is out for summer, and “many children miss out on free school meals, and families turn to us for support. This summer, more families are experiencing economic hardship due to inflation, soaring food and gas prices, and the impacts of expiring pandemic relief programs. For those reasons and more, 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.”
The more funds raised in July towards 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 by clicking here.
Last year, children represented 35% of food shelf visits in Minnesota, with 1,934,205 visits, up 55% from 2021. In 2022, Catholic Charities Food Shelf served 3,607 individuals across 1,201 households; 1,664 were children.
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