Pack the Porches Food Drive Fighting Hunger in St. Cloud

(KNSI) – You can make a difference for a family struggling between choosing to pay rent or the mortgage and putting food on the table.

The 14th annual Pack the Porches Food Drive is on Friday. KNSI’s Bob Hughes will be at Pioneer Place on Fifth from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. collecting donations, and Wild Country 99 will be gathering goodies from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union in Sartell.

All cash and food donations benefit Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf in St. Cloud. Thanks to a partnership with Second Harvest, for every dollar donated, they can buy $3.00 worth of food. Coborn’s is also matching the first $13,000 raised, which is $3,000 more than in past years.

Hughes spoke with Catholic Charities Events Coordinator John Brown, who described the type of people turning to them for help, “It’s pretty much anybody and everybody these days. Over the last couple of years, the amount of food we’ve distributed has just considerably gone up. So, we know that each year the need is greater.”

He says inflation and shrinkflation are hitting homes hard, leading to the need. Brown explained that they try to make going to the food shelf like going to the grocery store. “It is important to us to provide our customers with that dignity and that respect, knowing it is tough. It is it is hard to go in and say ‘Hey, I need help.’ Asking for help is always hard.”

Last year, the event raised more than $21,000 and 60,000 pounds of food. Since Pack the Porches started, more than $185,000 and 94,000 pounds of food have been collected.

March is Minnesota Food Share Month—a time for Minnesotans to unite and support their local food shelves.

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